Justice League University
by writing4alllifes
Summary: When Raven is shipped away to a 'super university' with her future team mates what will happen between her and the boy wonder? And when her father appears will she be able to overcome him? RaexRob, BeexCy, BBxTerra, Kid FlashxJinx. My first, enjoy.
1. There but not back again

**My first fan fic ever! Hope you guys and gals like it! If it isnt great I'll take the criticism. But tell me what you think! Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for Rachel/Adrienne.**

**Writing4alllifes**

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**Justice League University**

**Chapter 1**

**May**

I stepped out of the history room happy, though my face didn't show it. I'd just gotten a history test back. 130. A . Everything correct. All extra credit. Best in class. Finally. Better than major popular, smart, jock, Richard Grayson. The guy who didn't need to study. But today, after hours of studying, I, Rachel Roth, had beaten him by five whole points. Usually it was the other way around but with fewer points in between. I'd worked my tail off to get it. I walked to the stairs in a hurry. School was over and I had to get home quick. I was expecting college acceptance letters. I was about to open the doors to the stairs when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked back into the crystal blue eyes of Richard Grayson. 

He smiled, "Congrats," and held out a hand.

I raised an eyebrow but took it. Two competitors. We were equals. Academically, of course. Everything else, no. He was really popular, good looking, and fawned over by almost every girl in the building. Except me. I was a loner, not so great looking, and guys were scared of how I kept to myself. very different worlds. As we shook hands I looked at him for what seemed like the first time. He was five-eleven, light skin, and the bluest eyes I'd ever seen. Muscles rippled from under his tee-shirt and jeans. He had a nice smile and super white teeth. And the most exotic ebony hair. He had it spiked. I finally realized why so many girls were obsessed with him. I snapped back into reality. I took my hand back and gave him a long hard, dark look. Then I shot down the stairs. I burst through the back door and ran to a heavily shadowed area. I took a deep breath and concentrated. 

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos," I muttered. An orb of darkness surrounded me and I was gone in a flash. 

Seconds later Richard Grayson burst through the back door, "Rachel!"

He looked around wildly and groaned, "Why? Why do you keep running away?" He punched the wall, "Why can't you see how much I like you!"

He kicked the wall in frustration and then ran to the baseball team's locker room, thinking about the smart, beautiful, silent Rachel Roth.

I landed in front of my mailbox without a sound. A second later the mail truck arrived. I grabbed the packages and unlocked my door. I lived alone. I was only seventeen but there was no one left. But I was doing just fine. I ripped open the packets. They were frighteningly small. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Stanford. Harvard: We are sorry to say that you have not been accepted…Prinston: We're sorry…Yale: We're sorry…Stanford: We're…I let the letters drop to the floor. I was in shock. How could this…it wasn't possible. I'd gotten perfect SATs, always A's in school, everything. How could they not accept me? Tears welled in my eyes but I held them back. It would be okay, they probably sent it to the wrong person. The mailman would be back any minute now to tell me there had been a mistake. This couldn't be happening because I'd already gotten a letter saying my scholarship was approved! What was going on? I sunk to the ground and put my head in my hands. Something fell on my head. I groaned and picked the package up. What? A fifth letter? And it was big? I only applied to four colleges. I rubbed my head and tore it open. The letter looked like this.

Ms. Rachel Roth,

Congratulations, you have been accepted to the Justice League University. A school for those with supernatural 'gifts'. We know everything about you. You've been living alone. You have telekinetic powers. You are extremely competitive academically. Do not be saddened if colleges you applied to have turned you down, we did that. We want to have you at our school. And we get what we want. Tuition is free 

because of your family situation. We look forward to having you in September. More information will be sent.

Welcome,

Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Batman

I stared at it. Could they do what they'd done to me? Totally destroy my future? I had so many plans for after college. And now they were gone. And how did they know so much about me? I was furious. They'd ruined my life! I _was_ going to go to an Ivy-League school, but no. I had to go to their snooty 'super school'. I gathered all of the papers and teleported myself out of there. 

I landed in the bleachers at the baseball field. It was a cool and windless day. It wasn't exactly where I'd wanted to go but it'd do. I looked down at the papers.

"Hey," I turned the papers and looked up, surprised. 

Rich Grayson was standing on the other side of the fence, smiling. He was wearing his baseball uniform. Baseball tee-shirt that said GOTHAM HIGH, black under armor, long tight pants, and cleats. I'd forgotten he had practice. I guess that happens when you don't pay attention to people around you. The rest of his team was throwing the baseball around.

I looked up, "Hi."

He looked at the papers, "Acceptance? Would've thought you'd have more."

"Only applied to one," the lie came off my tongue rather easily.

He nodded, impressed.

"Rich!" we both looked toward the sound. Garfield Logan and Victor Stone were standing on the pitcher's mound impatiently. "Get your nonexistent butt over here!"

Rich blushed, "I gotta go."

"Bye," I murmured. He ran back. And I saw that Gar and Vic were wrong. Rich had one heck of a butt. 

**4 Months Later**

**September**

More information had come over that long summer about JLU. I was to get on a plane on September first to a city in Virginia, Roanoke (I just randomly picked this city and researched it. So if there are real people and I use their names, I'm not talking about them!). I was told that everything would be explained there. Now, four months later, I was on that plane. An hour and a half plane ride and I'd be at the University. I took a deep breath as I sat down in the window seat. I pulled out the senior yearbook and flipped through it. Garfield Logan. Gar. Sandy blond hair and tan skin. Always wearing khakis, a tee-shirt, sunglasses, and sandals. Beach bred. Moved from California through the foster program in first grade. Immediately accepted by everyone. Victor Stone. Another foster kid. But he'd been born and bred in Gotham. He was tall, dark-skinned, a whiz at computers, and Gar and Rich's best friend. He was nice. A good friend. Even though he never had been. Not for long anyway. And Rich Grayson. I'd developed a major crush on him over the summer when we talked at the park. I'd opened up to him. A little. I imagined his beautiful smiling face and sighed happily. The sound of someone sitting down beside me woke me from my daydream. I turned to see crystal blue eyes and spiked ebony hair. Rich. His gaze met mine and he smiled.

"Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah. Where are you headed?"

"Little city. Roanoke."

"Really? Me too."

"Cool. What school are you headed for?"

I hesitated. But I knew I could trust him. I took a napkin and started to write. The plane was taking off and my hand was unsteady. I wrote, JLU. He looked faintly surprised but wrote, Me 2. 

I looked into his eyes in amazement. He had powers too? Only one I could think of would be attracting women. I raised an eyebrow and he wrote, l8r. I nodded and closed the yearbook. He glanced over at the book.

"You mind?" I shook my head and passed it to him.

He opened it and leafed through the pages. He pointed to a geeky looking kid with an Afro, "Ha! Remember him?"

"Wasn't he the guy who ran down the hall-," I began.

"Yelling 'The unicorns are chasing me! Run! Hide me!'"

"Yeah!" I felt strangely happy and exuberant around him. 

We both burst into a fit of laughter. He stopped short, utterly surprised. I only noticed when my pretzel bag burst open and I looked at him. 

"What?" I sincerely hoped I didn't have anything in my teeth. 

"You laughed!"

I slapped him on the shoulder playfully, "I'm not that serious!"

"Really? When was the last time you laughed?"

I froze. Drat. I thought for a moment, "There was that one time in third grade when Gar and Vic put a tack on Mr. Hauburn's chair and then his toupee fell off."

He chuckled, "That was the last time?"

"Yes," I said quietly.

"How?" he said, amazed.

"Something happened."

"You don't have to tell me. But I won't tell anyone if you don't-,"

"No. I'll tell you. You'll be the first to know," I said gravely.

He nodded. 

"In the middle of third grade my father moved to, um, northern Russia," I lied quickly. Maybe I'd tell him the truth later. "Soon after my mother died. In a final letter to me she told me that the powers I had would help me survive without her. She also said to never try and contact my father. Why, I'm not sure. She told me everything about myself and my family in that letter. And then it disappeared, along with any and all emotion I had. I turned myself away from everyone. I was too worried about survival. And in my free time I studied. I wanted to succeed. Prove that I could stand on my own and survive. Nothing else," I stared forlornly out the plane's window. Down at the clouds and blue sky.

"So you've been living all by yourself over nine years?" he looked shocked.

I nodded grimly.

"No human being that young could do that for so long!"

"I'm no normal human being. I'm not even human."

"What?"

I traced a line under 'l8r'.

He nodded, "I'm sorry." He grabbed my hand and squeezed it. 

"Awww! Look at them, Vic!"

Our hands broke apart and we looked up to see a grinning, sandy haired Gar Logan. Vic Stone's head appeared in a flash and groaned when he found he'd missed it all. 

"You guys going to Roanoke too?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, we're both going to JL-," Vic clamped a hand over Gar's mouth and mouthed to me 'JLU'. 

I nodded, "Me too."

They look surprised but didn't ask any questions. 

"You can tell them. It's fine with me," I told Rich.

He nodded and told them about me.

"You haven't laughed in nine and a half years?" Gar nearly yelled. 

The plane got really quiet and Gar laughed, "Funny joke, Rach!"

"Wow, I'm sorry. You should have told us," Vic said kindly.

"I can't tell you why now, but I couldn't have told you even if I had really wanted to," I said quietly.

"Okay. But I want to hear more about this later," Vic warned.

I nodded. It was kind of funny. Vic was acting like my older brother. Gar yawned, "I'm gonna catch some shut eye."

"Gar? We're there," Rich said.

And sure enough, the captain's voice came to our ears and told us we were about to land. My heart was filled with excitement. This was going to be a heck of a time. 

**Roanoke's Airport. **

We stepped off the plane. Each of us were excited to finally be there. We walked toward the luggage area and grabbed our stuffed. Then we saw a guy around our age holding a sign that read GRAYSON, LOGAN, ROTH, STONE. He had flaming red hair and a glint of yellow in his eyes. He said his name was Wally and helped us take our luggage to what must have been his van. 

"Where are we going to Wally?" Gar asked as we rumbled out of the airport.

"School called Northside Middle," he said as we drove past a graveyard and through a tunnel. 

"Ugh. I thought I'd never have to go back. I thought I was going to University!" Gar complained as we turned right at a stoplight. 

"You are. You'll see.

We passed three more stoplights and crossed a bridge and then turned onto a Northside High School Road (seriously a road). It was around one o'clock when we pulled up in front of the school. We unpacked and walked in the front door. It was deserted. All of a sudden a girl ran around a corner and stopped in front of us, breathless. She looked around twelve years old but 

was taller than me and Gar. She had incredibly light skin, brown hair put back in a ponytail, running shoes, jeans and a STANFORD sweatshirt on. She was smiled and I automatically knew I was going to like her. She was like me. I was too small and she probably thought she was too big. 

"You're the freshmen, right?" she asked breathlessly.

"They are," Wally said.

"Thanks Kid, oops, I mean Wally," she said. She looked at us, "Great. I'm Rachel and…Is there something wrong?"

Gar, Vic, and Rich were looking at me. I stepped in, "I'm Rachel Roth," I held out my hand.

She took it and smiled, "Great. Call me Adrienne. My middle name. And you guys are?" 

"Gar Logan."

"Vic Stone."

"Rich Grayson."

"Good to meet you all. As I said, I'm Adrienne, head of Super-Affairs here at NMS. Means I get you guys to them," she pointed up. "Follow me."

She started up with the stairs with me right next to her. 

She murmured to me, "Rich your boyfriend?"

"No. Why?" I was surprised.

"He couldn't stop looking at you," she walked past a cafeteria with us trooping after her. We neared a set of double doors and Adrienne pushed them open and motioned for us to follow.

"We're almost there," she grinned.

Suddenly, another voice, "Who are these people, Rachel?"

We both turned toward the voice. A short blonde was standing in the doorway with her hand on her hips.

"Taylor, these are my-," she hesitated, searching for an answer.

"We're her older brothers," Wally cut in.

"And sister," I added. 

Taylor looked he guys up and down, raising an eyebrow in approval. She gave me a quick glance and then walked out.

"Taylor," Adrienne rolled her eyes, "total jerk. Thanks. Now follow me."

Adrienne opened the window and crawled out. Her feet disappeared as she pulled herself up. 

"Who would've known?" Rich muttered and I elbowed him. 

We followed her up and soon we were all standing on top of the roof. Adrienne walked to the center of the rooftop and brushed away some gravel. It revealed a large circle that had the letters JLU engraved into it. Adrienne pushed down on it and then twisted it until we heard five clicks. She stepped back and smiled at us.

"Good luck, Titans," she looked at us with a proud look in her eyes. I wondered then who this twelve year old really was. 

But a blue light started to surround the five of us and I could no longer see anyone. The light grew brighter and brighter until it was pure white. And then I saw no more.

When I opened my eyes I was sitting on a bench with my four companions. We were in what looked like a park. There was a fountain bubbling behind us and trees dotted around the area. Birds twittered nearby and I thought I saw a squirrel run from tree to tree. It looked like I was the only one awake. Rich was sleeping peacefully and I was content just watching the perfect angel that was him, sleep. His soft lips were perfectly still and his hand rested on his chiseled abdomen. 

"Quite done?" I jumped out of my transfixion and looked up at the person who was speaking.

She was a tall woman dressed in a crisp white shirt and pleated black pants, but I could see the huge muscles that rippled throughout her body. There was a glint of gold in her hair. Who was this person?

"Um," I said nervously.

"You are?"

"Rachel Roth," I answered.

"Ah, I see. And these must be Mr. Stone, Logan, and Grayson. And Wally. I thought he would have woken up by now. Probably faking it," she walked over to Wally's sleeping form and snapped her fingers in front of his face. He didn't move but I was pretty sure I could see a smile flicker at his lips. She clapped in his ear. Except it was one of the loudest claps I'd ever heard. Wally hadn't been expecting that and he jumped up almost three feet. 

"Morning, Wally," the woman said.

"Oh, morning Diana," Wally said and stretched. 

I still had no idea who this lady was but I decided I should rouse the boys. Rich woke up and wasn't surprised when he saw the strange woman. Gar and Vic were flummoxed. They had no idea where we were or who the lady was. 

When we were all up the woman spoke, "Welcome, freshman, to the Justice League University. I am Wonder Woman, but you may call me Diana." My mouth dropped. This was _the _Wonder Woman. "I've been assigned to your year as a kind of guardian of sorts. I watch out for you. And watch for anything _else_," she looked pointedly at me and Rich.

What was wrong with her? We weren't doing _anything._

I glared at her while she spoke, "Now if you'll follow me, we'll get you all settled." 

She led us through the park and to a big white door that slid open when we neared it. We were suddenly in what seemed like a dormitory. She looked at Rich and Wally as we neared a door, "You two will be rooming together in here. Get settled and unpacked."

She led us down farther until we reached another door, "Logan and Stone, this is your room. Settled and unpacked."

Then it was just me and her. She turned to me as we walked down farther, "Look, Rich is a good kid but I will not tolerate any foolery in my dorm building. I don't mind if you are going out or whatever. But, I do not want to hear any 'bumps in the night'. Understand?"

I stared at her, "Look, Diana, nothing is going on between me and Rich. We're just good friends."

"Sure you are," she smiled wryly. 

I rolled my eyes when she turned around and opened a door, "Your room. Your roommate is in there. Play nice and unpack."

I walked in and she closed the door. I was standing in a room that was half bare and half not. One side was painted with stripes of pink, purple, and black. Everything on that side was decorated like that. The other side was white and had a bed, dresser, and night table. I walked over and deposited my stuff on the floor. I didn't notice the person on the other side of the room until she spoke. She seemed to blend right into the colors she'd painted the room.

"She give you the 'bump in the night' talk?"

I looked up and spotted her sitting on the bed, "Yup."

"Yeah she said that about me and Wally. How 'bout you?"

"Me and Rich Grayson. He's only a friend, truthfully."

"Uhuh, sure."

I fumed, "And you happen to be?"

The girl got up and walked over. She had electric pink hair shaped like large devil horns. She was wearing a purple and black sweatshirt and black jeans. She was very pale but had some purple eye shadow on. She held out a hand, "You first."

I stood up and looked her in the eye. I was going to like her. "Rachel Roth," I took her hand.

"The name's Minerva, but you can call me Jinx," we shook. 

"So, what's your power?" Jinx asked and sat down next to me.

"Telekinetic," I used my powers to unzip my suitcase, open the dresser's drawer and deposit all of my clothes in there. 

"Cool. I'm a witch. Spells, hexes, the works. So what's your story?"

I looked her in the eye, "I'd much rather not talk about it."

"O…kay. Then I won't tell you about me. But when and if you're ever ready to tell me, I'm ready to listen. I'll let you unpack or whatever," she walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She looked back over at me, "Who's this Rich guy rooming with?"

I looked up from my suitcase, "Wally."

Jinx smiled, "How cool."

"Yup," I muttered. 

I took all the books out of my bags and arranged them all in the corner as neatly as I could. I deposited my candles in one of the drawers in the nightstand. I stuffed everything else in and tacked up a poster of my favorite singer, Avril Lavigne. Then I put a photo of me, Rick, Gar, and Vic at a baseball game over the summer on my nightstand.

Jinx glanced over at my side. She was reading a TeenGab magazine. "You're an Avril fan too?"

"Oh yeah," I nodded.

"Awesome! What's your favorite song?"

"Girlfriend. You?"

"Same! Oh yeah! I've got the CD right here," she rummaged around her nightstand and extracted the CD case. "And my radio…" she searched around and then pulled out a boom box. She plugged it in and stuck the CD in. Jinx cranked up the volume and rocked out. The music was so intensifying I just had to get up and air guitar with her. As we were rocking out the door opened and a tall girl with dark skin popped her head in. she was wearing a black tee-shirt with a long yellow sleeved underneath and black jeans. Her brown hair was curly and she had it put up in an awesome looking ponytail. 

"Is that Girlfriend? It is! Awesome! I'm Karen and I am about to help you two…Rock out!" she jumped over to us and we were all singing and dancing and waving our air guitars around in a wild frenzy. 

The door opened again and it was the guys now. We turned the music off. 

"Hey guys. This is Jinx and Karen," I introduced them and noticed that Victor couldn't keep his eyes off Karen. Freshman year was definitely going to be interesting. 

"Hey there. Diana just came and told us it's dinner time. She gave me directions. And a 'get down there now'," Rich grinned. We walked out. 

"So, who's who?" Jinx asked.

"Alright, Gar is the blonde one, Vic is the big one, Rich is the pale one with black hair, and Wally's the one with red hair."

Karen smiled, "Vic's kind of cute."

"He likes you. I can already tell."

"You think?"

"Oh yeah."

"Hmm," Karen caught up with Vic and started talking. 

Jinx looked at me, "Nice job, Rach. I just caught that vibe."

We looked at each other and said together, "A woman thing."

We laughed and caught up with the boys.

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**That's chapter one. It's long, I know. I'm still getting the hang of all this so bear with me. It's Spring Break though so I'll update soon! Get those reviews in! I won't demand them though. I'll be fine. Thanks for reading! Here's one or two heads up though. Karen is Bee. The pairings here are RaexRob, BeexCy, BBxTerra, and WallyxJinx. There is no Star in this. Jinx is a good guy. And the Adrienne/Rachel character will pop up again.**


	2. So many discoveries

**Here it is Chapter 2! Not as long as the first one but hopefully pretty good. I hope to get another one up sometime tomorrow. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Rachel/Adrienne.**

**writing4alllifes**

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**Chapter 2**

**Cafeteria**

When we finally navigated our party of seven to the cafeteria it was packed. The noise was deafening and we were all on the lookout for a table. Jinx spotted one and we all bunched around it. I'm not sure how but Jinx got me squeezed next to Rich, herself next to Wally, Karen next to Vic, and Gar with an empty seat next to him. We joined in the noise by talking and laughing about high school. I wasn't sure how I was laughing and everything. It seemed so new to me. And I was equally surprised that something hadn't blown up or landed in someone's face. Then a voice interrupted us.

"Can I sit here?" a girl with radiant blond hair, blue eyes, and a nervous smile asked. Her blond hair was falling in her eyes and she had one arm crossed, almost holding the other. She was wearing a black tee-shirt and brown shorts.

"Sure. I'm Rachel. You are?" I'm not sure why I was welcoming, but I didn't regret it.

"Terra," she sat down next to Gar and brushed her blond hair out of her eyes.

"I'm Gar. That's Rich, Vic, Wally, Jinx, and Karen," Gar motioned to each as he said their name.

"Karen? Karen Chee?"

"Yeah, why?" Karen asked.

"You're my roomie! Terra Boulder," she held out a hand and Karen shook it.

"Great. I'll show you the room after dinner."

"Speaking of dinner. Where is it?" Vic asked whiningly.

As if on cue, a voice boomed over the buzz of chatter in the cafeteria. 

"Welcome, students of the new school year," we all looked around until our eyes set on a stage where a man wearing a Superman suit was standing with a microphone. Superman. _The_ Superman. In the Kryptonian flesh. I was amazed. 

Rich muttered, "You're drooling." 

I gave him a good long glare and Superman started talking again, "I know you're all hungry and food will be out soon, but first I want you all to get comfortable. Get out of cover."

There were a flurry of noises all around the room. But what happened at our table I was more surprised with. Karen stretched out a long pair of leathery yellow wings and yawned. Gar and Vic pressed the red stones on their rings and an amazing transformation occurred. Vic was now full of metal. Mostly. You could see part of his bald head, one of his eyes, and…nothing else. He had a metal plate in his head, one eye was red, and the rest of him was made of electronics. He flipped open a panel on his left arm and punched some buttons. Gar's skin and hair turned forest green. He stretched and then morphed into an eagle, cried out happily, and morphed back. I gaped at my friends. These were the reasons why they were here. They had these secrets that they'd kept hidden for who knows how long. I guess in way I had too. Maybe more. But these were pretty big. Wings, a cyborg, and, um, some green thing. The others though I wasn't sure about. I knew Jin was a witch and I was sure that was enough. But what about Wally, Rich, and Terra? They looked around the table just as amazed as I was. Except Rich, he seemed to expect everything. 

Superman started talking again, "All right now, settle down. Welcome to the University. This isn't a game, so get serious. Prepare yourselves for the experience of your lives, kids. Schedules will be delivered later tonight. First day of classes start tomorrow and then the weekend. Rest up tonight and dig in now."

Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, waiters had come out of the kitchen and, as Superman said 'dig in', placed platters of food on our tables. My mouth watered. Sure, it wasn't a grand feast, but it was a lot better than plane food. Tater tots, chicken, hamburgers, wraps, soda, salad, and…tofu? That's what Gar grabbed, along with a fistful or two of tater tots. I took a salad, Rich a turkey wrap, Jinx and Wally took tater tots and fried chicken, Vic and Karen snatched the hamburgers and toppings, and Terra got a little bit of everything. We all dug in, talking and laughing. Occasionally we stopped to look at Gar and Terra who were shoveling their food down like crazed machines. Gar was sitting next to me so, when the two stopped inhaling their dinners, I heard the most frightening words ever uttered by the lean, green, eating machine. 

"You can have my tots," Gar smiled at Terra and pushed his tots over to her. 

I stopped eating and stared at shock as Terra shyly popped a tater tot into her mouth. Then I looked at Rich and he had the same expression. Gar never gave ANYONE his food. He was strictly vegetarian and he didn't spare a crumb of food on ANYONE. Gar must have really like this girl. I just hoped she wouldn't break his heart. Not after that girl over the summer, Charlotte. Led him along and then brutally crushed him. I was amazed. I looked at Vic. He too had paused, inches away from his triple stacked cheeseburger. He watched, stunned, as Gar broke a tot in half and ate it. The others finally noticed our silence and Jinx looked at me and raised an eyebrow. She mouthed 'what?' and I mouthed back 'later'. We resumed our talk casually and once we'd finished, Superman spoke into the microphone again, "Students, dinner is over. Curfew is in thirty minutes. If you were smart, you'd get to sleep _before_ you're supposed to wake up tomorrow."

That got a few chuckles and then the cafeteria started to clear out. But as we were about to get up Superman pointed to us, "I need to see all of you. Go through that door. We'll join you in a minute."

We all walked cautiously toward the door he'd pointed to on the far side of the room. Who 'we' was, none of us knew. But Rich didn't seem to be as nervous as us. I wasn't sure what was going on. Especially with him. Maybe he knew more about all of this than us. How, I didn't know. But I'd find out soon enough. Gar held the door open for us and, after I passed through with Rich, I saw him bow low while Terra walked through. I saw her blush and smile. I almost rolled my eyes. Way too cute for my liking.

We'd walked into a dark hallway that sloped downward as we walked along. The walls were made of brown stone and there was a metal railing along the sides. We walked on in silence. All of us unsure of what was about to come. When we finally came to the end of the tunnel we were met with a huge room. The ceiling stretched up higher than any ceiling I'd ever seen. The walls were lined metal plates and a huge TV screen was up on the far wall. A large table was in the center of the room and twelve chairs surrounded it. The rest of the room was bare. We looked around, amazed and confused at the same time. It was totally empty. 

I broke the silence, "Sooo…"

"Yeah, what's going on here?" Jinx exclaimed. 

I turned to Rich. He knew what was happening, I knew it. "What's going on Rich? I'm pretty sure you know exactly what's going on here."

"Me?" he looked surprised, but I wasn't going to fall for his act.

"Rich-."

I was interrupted by a loud swooshing noise coming from the ceiling. Then the rocky ceiling parted and Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Green Lantern, who was surrounded in a green orb. They landed in chairs as a sharp whoosh of wind turned our attention to the large TV screen where a man in a red spandex suit with a yellow lightening bolt and matching mask was standing. The Flash. He zipped over to a chair and sat down. That's when we noticed the other man who'd sat down. He was wearing a black mask, black cape, grey spandex suit with a utility belt, black boots, and a bat symbol on his chest. Batman. We just stood there in awe. 

"Welcome, kids," Flash chuckled at our amazement. 

"Rich," Batman nodded at Rich. 

I knew there was something going with him and someone here. How else would he be prepared for everything?

"Awright, anyone of you want to tell us what's happenin' here?" Karen questioned, raising an eyebrow.

They chuckled at her bluntness and Diana spoke up, "You eight have been brought to the University for a reason. You are the future of the Justice League. We know that, with the proper training, all of you will become the next protectors of our world and others to come. You will be pushed harder, drilled for excellence, and our expectations are high. Higher than they usually are. Yes, this is your first day here and you're probably wondering why we are giving you all this now. But tomorrow will most likely be the hardest day of your lives. And the weekend will be a blessing. Now get to bed. Prepare yourselves. Sleep."

We were all frozen by her words. Shocked, stunned, I was searching my mind for more synonyms. We, us right there, were the future super heroes of the world. It was a little hard to take in. The Green Lantern spoke gravely, although I was sure he was trying to sound amused, "That means go, now."

I slowly turned around with the rest of my friends and walked back into the tunnel. Rich, finally, looked faintly surprised. We were silent as we walked back through the tunnel. When I looked at my friends faces I felt an urge to laugh. Vic's eyebrows were knotted together in confusion, Karen's mouth was shaped in a small O, and Jinx's face was like stone, no expression except stunned graveness. Wally and Gar were smiling their heads off and Terra was just looking down at the ground. But I could see a small smile peek through all that hair. Rich had a contradicting smile on his face as we walked through the door into a dimly lit cafeteria. When we got back to the dorm room hallway I stopped. The others stopped too and we all turned to Rich.

"What's going on Richard?" I questioned, stepping closer.

"Yeah," the others agreed.

"I knew this was going to happen," he muttered. "Look, this is kind of hard to explain."

"Hard to explain? Dude, you've expected every weird thing that's come along, you weren't surprised when we ended up in that garden, and Batman knew who you were! It's been hard for us, man," Vic vented. 

"I know and I'm sorry I couldn't have told you until now. But," he slipped something thin and black out of his pocket. He put it on his face, it was a mask. "I'm Robin."

I immediately saw it. I'm not sure how I hadn't noticed until now. Rich, or Robin, leaned back on his door and slipped inside before we could say anything. Wally raced in before we could enlist him as a spy and interrogator. And, I didn't know about anyone else, but I was dead tired. Gar and Victor headed into their room, yawning. As I watched them go in, I shook my head in amazement. I still couldn't believe that Vic was basically a robot and Gar was a green shape shifter. As us girls walked down the hall Jinx looked at Terra and smiled, "Girl, you're falling fast, you know?"

Terra blushed, "I guess."

"He really likes you, trust me I'd know. I've known him since elementary. Gar sharing his tots with you was a big step. In the right direction, of course. He's a good guy," I glanced over at her. We stopped outside the room Jinx and I shared. I looked back at her and said darkly, "But let me warn you. You hurt him, none of us," I jerked my head toward the boys' rooms, "will ever forgive you."

I stepped into the room without looking back. Jinx followed and whistled once she'd closed the door, "You scared the shorts off her. What was the deal with that little 'talk'?"

"He's had a history of chaotic relationships. I don't know if he could make it through another broken heart," I pulled on some black pajamas and sat down on my bed. 

Jinx shrugged a black nightgown on and climbed under her blanket, "Ah, I see. I think Terra's a good one. A little shy, sure, but won't break his heart. She was on the verge of tears out there. If I were you, I'd apologize tomorrow and explain Gar's history."

"You're probably right," I muttered. 

"G'night. Can you get the light?"

"Yeah," I used my power to flip the light switch and I sunk under my covers. 

"See you tomorrow, future hero of the Justice League," Jinx laughed.

"Same, guardian of this world and those to come," I muttered. 

We laughed and then muttered our goodnights.

I laid on my back, hands behind my head and looked at the dark ceiling thoughtfully. It had been one of the most eventful days of my entire life. I'd met that twelve year old, Adrienne, discovered I was a future guardian of the world, and found that my crush was Batman's sidekick. 

Holy crow, Batman.

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**There it is, Chapter 2. Hope you got the 'holy crow, batman' thing. Thanks for the review, 718darkstar! Glad you like it! If _you_ like it, please review! And thanks to all of those that favorited or story alerted this! Great to know people like it and are looking forward to more. Look for an update sometime tomorrow.**

**writing4alllifes**


	3. One eventful morning I had

**Here it is, chapter 3. This whole day is going to take at least another chapter and then things will start moving along. Bear with me and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did I wouldn't be writing this. The only thing I own is the Rachel/Adrienne character who, sadly isn't in this chapter...boohoo :(.**

**writing4alllifes**

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**Chapter 3**

**The Next Morning**

I wish I could tell you that I woke to the sound of birds, but then I'd be lying. I woke to the sound of Jinx throwing clothes around the room and practically lifting her furniture off the floor. I cracked my eyes open and observed the chaos occurring on the other side of the room.

"Jinx, what in the world are you doing?" I croaked and sat up sleepily. I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

"I can't find the necklace Wally gave me!" Jinx searched through her nightstand's drawers ravenously.

"Hold on, I'll find it," I closed my eyes and concentrated. Almost suddenly a necklace made out of chain with a red W and a pink M charm emerged from under the bed.

"Thank you! Oh, I thought I'd lost it forever!" Jinx clutched it to her heart and then put it on.

"You would've found it eventually, Minerva," I smiled and looked at the charm.

Jinx blushed and threw her pillow at me.

"Where's the shower here?" I asked, standing up and stretching.

"Across the hall, I just found it thirty minutes ago," Jinx fixed her hair up in a ponytail. I noticed only then that her hair was damp and the towel laying on her dresser.

"Thanks. What time is it? Have our schedules come yet?" I stood up and pulled out a purple sweatshirt, dark blue tank top, black jeans, and purple and black flip flops.

"It's eight-thirty. Your schedule is on your nightstand. I got up an hour ago and they'd been pushed under the door," Jinx was putting on makeup.

"Kay. I'll be back in a few. Don't go to breakfast without me," I turned the knob.

"Kay."

I walked into the hallway and saw Terra coming out of what must have been the room Karen and her were sharing. I took a deep breath and decided that now was as good as time as any to apologize to the poor girl. I sighed, "Terra!"

She turned, obviously surprised, she asked hesitantly, "Yeah?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I went way overboard last night. It's just that Gar has had a history of brutal heart breaks and I'd rather him not have to go through another one. But you seem like the kind of girl who wouldn't do something so cruel as that. I'm sorry we sort of got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over, future hero of our world?" I asked.

Terra smiled, "I understand. I was kind of shocked. Truthfully, you scared me half to death. So yeah, we can start over."

"Thanks. Sorry again, I have that sort of affect on people. Kind of a…family thing."

"It's good. Don't worry. I'll see you at breakfast," Terra walked back into her room.

I felt strangely better after that. I walked into the room across the hall and walked into a large shower room. There was a pile of towels on a table so I grabbed one and headed to a shower stall. I locked the door behind me and took off my pajamas. I folded them over the door and turned on the hot water. I sighed as the hot liquid poured down on my back, slowly massaging all my worries away. I stepped back a little and let my short violet hair be drenched. I splashed my face with the water and then stupidly realized I hadn't brought any soap or shampoo. I groaned and looked at the wall. And I felt _really_ stupid after I did. Hanging on the wall was a small support that held a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and body wash. I grabbed the soap and finished my shower.

I turned off the water after I'd washed the shampoo out of my hair. I grabbed the towel and dried myself off. I pulled on my pajamas and wrapped the towel around my head and walked out of the shower room. I stepped out of the hallway and looked down at the boys' rooms when Rich suddenly stepped out of what must have been the boy's shower room. He was wearing his boxers and…nothing else. I stood there for a second. He didn't see me for a minute so I got a good look at him. He was…gorgeous. His six pack abs, beautifully sculpted arms, and a wonderfully strong looking chest. When he finally did see me he waved and smiled. I blushed and returned the wave. Then I got into my room as fast as I could.

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it and sighed.

Jinx was standing at her dresser and raised an eyebrow at me, "Did you fall in the shower or something?"

"No," I said edgily. Then I told her about how I'd talked to Terra on the way in and then seen Rich half naked on the way out.

She whistled, "Wow, quite a morning you've had."

"You're telling me," I said as I put on the clothes I'd set out.

I glanced over at her colorful side of the room, "How'd you get your room painted so fast?"

"Magic."

I grabbed my schedule, "Ah. Ready?" I asked as I pulled on my sweatshirt and put my hair up in a high pony tail, letting a strand of stray hair fall into my face.

"You bet," Jinx said confidently. She had her pink hair in pigtails and was wearing a pink tee-shirt, light blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. She looked at my flip flops, "I'd put on some real shoes."

I thought about it for a second a pulled on a pair of black sneaks. We walked out of our dorm room just as our friends walked out of theirs. It was if it had all been creepily planned. Karen and Terra walked down to meet us and then we walked on to group up with they boys. Jinx met Wally with a kiss on the lips and I tried my best to concentrate on what the others were doing, which, truthfully, wasn't much better. We walked toward the cafeteria together and I started to interrogate Rich.

"So, Robin. Wanna tell me about, hmm, let's see, everything?"

Rich looked guilty and I almost felt sorry as he began to tell me, "Well, Batman, or Bruce, adopted me after my parents were killed in an, um, accident. I was one of the Flying Grayson's in a circus. So Bruce trained me until I became his sidekick, Robin. And so I was doing that _and_ school _and _sports and some other things all at the same time."

"Oh. How'd you do so well in school if you had so many things going on?"

"I had an excellent tutor. He was Bruce's butler, Alfred."

"I see. One more question. What were these 'other things' you were doing?"

"Well, it was more of an attempt. An attempt to get you to like me," he admitted nervously while rubbing the back of his neck.

My heart skipped I gigantic beat. He liked me? Grey skinned, violet eyed me? I laughed nervously, "Oh, really? Do you think it worked?"

"Not until this summer and right now," we were outside the cafeteria doors.

Rich stopped me with a touch of his hand and turned to me. He looked me in the eye and leaned down to my lips. My heart was racing as our lips met in a kiss. I knew the others had stopped and were looking at us but I didn't care, I was in heaven. His soft lips against mine. We parted and smiled at each other. He took my hand and we walked into the cafeteria. It was my first kiss and I was deeply satisfied. We sat down at the same table as last night and our breakfast platters had already arrived. Rich and I sat next to each other, Wally and Jinx across from us, Vic and Karen next to them, and Terra and Gar next to me. So us four girls were all sitting near each other. I bit into a piece of whole wheat toast and sipped at my orange juice as my three new friends smiled at me.

"Please stop," I said through my orange juice playfully and they all laughed.

"So, how'd it feel?" Karen asked.

I looked at the guys and then back at them, "I'll tell you all later, 'kay? What're your schedules?"

"Let's put 'em all out right here and compare," Terra put her sheet of paper in the middle of the four of us.

We all put our schedules out and looked at them. It was the first time I'd actually looked at mine and I was sort of surprised at the course titles. There was a Gym period where we were 'required' to work out, a Power Exercise course, a Missions course, Strategies course, an Interrogation course, an Inside The Villain's Mind course, and a series of lectures. Gym was required for at least an hour every day. Power Exercise was every day, Inside The Villain's Mind was on Monday, Interrogation on Tuesday, Strategies on Wednesday, lectures given by super heroes themselves were given on Thursdays, and Missions was Friday. On weekends we were allowed to go down to the city below. It seemed like a busy but exciting schedule. I looked at the others and we had our courses on the same days and same times. 2:30 to 4:30 followed by a sort of Study Hall in the Library. Power Exercise was 10:30 to 12:30 every day and Gym time could be completed at any time but had to be completed. The boys had the same schedule but that was to be expected since we were all in the same boat. All going to be important some day. Some day. Today was like an orientation. They'd included a map and we were supposed to go visit all of our classes, but didn't have to go to the Gym.

I finished my toast and orange juice and I nibbled on some turkey bacon. We were all busy talking about how excited we were when Superman's voice rose over our chit chat.

"Students, today is your first day. Time to get going to your orientation classes. Make sure you get there on time at the right time. We want everyone where they are supposed to be. Eat whatever you're going to and get out there," he walked off the stage and we all grabbed a piece of toast and headed for the door. It led out to a large field that led to our dorm building, the gym, and the buildings where our classes were going to be held. The first we had to get to was Inside The Villain's Mind. We walked toward a small building to our right called M.M. Hall. We walked into the building cautiously. It was dead quiet and we walked down the tiled hall quietly so as to preserve the silence that seemed to not want to be disturbed. There were no doors in the hall, no windows, nothing. Just a dimly lit bare hallway. But as we walked down farther, we saw what must have been the class room. A steel double door and one window on each door.

"This is more like a prison than a university building," Gar muttered and we all murmured our agreements as Vic opened the door.

We walked nervously into a class room that was much the same style as the hallway. Completely empty, dark, and silent. There was a large table in the middle of the room. a desk was at the front of the room and a chalkboard behind it. We sat down in the chairs around the table. There were eight in all. Six on the side and two facing the desk. Victor and Karen sat next to each other on the right side with Gar sitting next to Vic. Terra was across from him, Jinx next to her, and Wally right beside. Rich and I sat in the two chairs facing the desk.

"Well, here we are, in college. You guys ready?" Wally asked.

"You had better be," a low, mysterious voice uttered.

I tensed up and surveyed the room discretely. No one was in the room except for us. The voice had come from near the door, but when it spoke again it was behind the desk. It said in a monotone that I could've related to much of my teen life, "Welcome, to your Inside The Villain's Mind class."

We turned to the front and saw, to our amazement, a figure appear from thin air before our eyes. His skin was a lighter green than Gar's and his eyes were blood red. He was bald and his face held a grim expression. He wore a blue flowing cape that was held with red suspender-like things that wrapped around his chest and hooked onto yellow studs on the cape. The collar hooked upward which gave him all the more mysterious look. He was wearing matching boots and blue spandex shorts held up with a yellow belt. I immediately recognized him as the telepathic and shape shifting alien of the Justice League, Martian Manhunter. When I had watched TV in my lonely home it had always been the news. The channel that showed the superheroes battling the bad guys. And Manhunter had always been my favorite. Not the bullet-proof Superman, Wonder Woman with her Lasso of Truth, or the speedy Flash. The silent mind-bending alien had always been my idol. He kept his cool calm face in the heat of battle and still managed to utterly confuse and befuddle the villains.

He must have read my thoughts because he looked directly at me before addressing the class, "I am known to most as Martian Manhunter, but since you eight are the super hero future I shall let you address me by my real name that only a few chosen people know. J'onn. If that name does not satisfy you I am sure Sir will do fine." He glanced down at a paper, "I know that by the number of you here that everyone is present, but I must call role. Raise your hand when I call your name. Boulder," Terra raised her hand. "Chee," Karen followed directions. "Grayson," Rich slowly raised his hand. "Logan," Gar smiled and did the same as Rich. "Roth," I raised my hand. "Stone," Vic raised a robotic arm. "West," Wally raised his hand lightning fast. "And Zantros," Jinx glared at him and raised her hand. J'onn said, obviously amused, "Good, none of us has left in the past ten seconds. In this class you will learn what your opponent is thinking. You will have to observe your enemy's every movement and anticipate in a split second exactly what he or she is about to do next. In most common criminals it is quite obvious, but with experienced villains, sometimes you won't know what's happening until it's already happened. And usually at your expense. This class is one of the most important you will ever take in your time at the University. Starting Monday I am separating you because it is already obvious that sitting with certain people," he quoted and unquoted, "will be a distraction. And distraction is not something tolerated in this class."

A shrill bell rang, "Get yourselves to Interrogation."

We got out of our chairs and into the empty hallway quickly. I didn't know about the rest of them but I was extremely nervous about this class.

"Don't y'all think that's a little unfair? I mean he's telepathic! He knows exactly what everyone's thinking!" Vic complained.

"That makes him all the better of a teacher, Vic," Rich said.

"Yeah, I guess you'd know, Boy Wonder," Vic sneered while punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"He wouldn't Vic, it's just common sense. The more experience you have, the better you can explain it," I said calmly.

"Are you saying I don't have common sense, Rachel?" Vic looked hurt.

I immediately felt bad. Vic had been nothing but nice to me, "No, I just-,"

"I'm just kidding Rach. I know you didn't mean nothin'," Vic assured me.

We walked out of the dark building and into the fresh air. We had ten minutes before Interrogation so we took our time walking over to Arrowhead Hall. It was about ten-thirty and a cool wind was rushing through our hair as we walked across the grassy field. My hand was in Rich's and I felt like the day wasn't going to be that difficult. Karen and Vic were chatting up a storm while Gar was turning into various animals for Terra. Wally's arm was around Jinx's shoulder and her head was leaning against him. It seemed almost too perfect. We were halfway across the field when a group of a group of guys walked up to us. They had a snobbish air around them and I presumed they were seniors. There were four of them. One was tall and skinny, two of them short and muscular, and the last one, most likely the leader of the group, was lean and muscular. They eyed Gar while he changed back into himself from a monkey.

"Hey, greeny. Can you turn purple too? Change into an ass (a donkey!!), greeny!" the leader laughed and his buddies joined in. The leader of their little group had drenched short black hair. He was wearing a skin tight aqua blue shirt and black jeans. He had dark sunglass covering his eyes.

"You guys got a problem?" Vic stood in front of Gar.

"Yeah, you, bolt brain," the leader poked Vic's robotic chest.

Vic and Gar were getting mad when Rich stepped up, "Back off water boy."

"Not going to happen, Grayson," the leader sneered and brought up his fists.

"You don't want to fight me, Aqualad," Rich said.

"Hmph," Aqualad flung a fist toward Rich. His fist was covered in foamy water.

Just as the water was about to hit Rich's face, Rich caught the fist with his hand. "Don't mess with me, man"

"Don't mess with _us,"_ the tall skinny one had stretched his body out so his feet were still in place but his head was right next to Rich's ear.

What happened next was a blur. Wally moved so fast I almost didn't see him move from his place next to Jinx. But something happened and he did it. The stretchy senior was suddenly twisted into a pretzel shape. Rich had need Aqualad in the stomach and Cyborg had punched one of the big goons in the face and sent him tumbling. Gar had morphed into an ape and punched the other muscular short guy.

"We are not freshman you want to fool around with," Rich said darkly to Aqualad.

We started walking again. Gar was silent while Terra tried to comfort him. I squeezed Rich's hand when he walked back to me. "Good job, Boy Wonder," I said.

"I wouldn't let them make fun of Vic and Gar like that," Rich muttered.

"I know. It was a good thing you did," I gave him a small smile.

He smiled back and we all walked into Arrowhead Hall.

Arrowhead Hall was a lot more lively than M.M. Hall. The walls were painted green with splashes of red here and there. It looked like arrows had been shot into the wall because the occasional feather attached onto a wooden shaft popped up as we walked down the hall. I had to admit, this was nothing like the colleges I'd visited. The halls were completely desolate. No one was in the same building at the same time, except for the caf and the dormitories. I visited colleges and there were students everywhere all the time. No place was ever quiet. Of course, this wasn't any regular college. I spotted another arrow stuck in the wall with a green cap with a red feather hung on it. I eyed it suspiciously but moved on with everyone else.

"At least this is a little more colorful. A little odd sure, but still, more welcoming," Rich observed.

Gar snorted, "Dude, it's school. Nothing's welcoming," Terra and the others laughed while Rich and I exchanged knowing glances. School was important to us. We took it seriously and this was no exception.

"Haha, funny Gar," I muttered.

"Yes well, if I wasn't green and a shape-shifter, I would be your," he put on a cheesy voice, "neighborhood comedian," he cocked an eyebrow and sent us into fits of laughter. We reached the end of the hall and we passed through the oak wood door. We entered a room that was very different than the one we'd just been in. There was a table similar to the one we'd sat at earlier along with much the same desk. A long bow and a quiver of arrows laying on the desk. Behind the desk were four doors with equal space between them. We all sat down the same way we had in M.M. Hall and waited for a mysterious voice coming out of nowhere. But nothing came so we began to talk. Out of the corner of my eye though, I saw one of the doors open and a man with green spandex tights, green boots, a green skin tight vest, and a hat like the one I'd seen in the hallway step into the room. He slid behind the desk.

He cleared his voice, "Shuddap."

Everyone stopped and looked up at him. The others were dumbfounded, but I'd expected him. He leaned forward on the desk, "Welcome to Interrogation. Role call. I want, when I call your name to raise your hand."

Role went without problem and then Gar asked, "So dude, like, who are you?"

I put my head in my hands in dismay. Gar could be a real idiot. It was so freaking obvious who it was. The man smiled, "I'm not 'dude'. I am the Green Arrow. You can call me Queen though. And I'll call you Green."

We all laughed and Gar blushed. Queen chuckled, "As I said, this is Interrogation class. You're not going to get any information from a villain about future plots, weapons, etcetera if you can't interrogate the correct way. It requires grit, strength, bravery, and determination. In this class you will learn to sustain all of these important skills. The interrogation rooms are behind me. On Tuesday I'll be pairing you up and sending you in there for a sort of pretest to see how well you can do this."

"So we gotta beat people up to get information? Damn that sounds easy," Vic exasperated.

Queen laughed, "That would be part of it. But sometimes criminals won't give in to that kind of thing and you'll have to resort to other 'means'. But more about that later. After this class you'll be heading to lunch. Then you'll continue to Strategies in Scream Hall. But until then I want to hear what you all think of the University so far."

I felt the urge to say something contradicting but Gar started the chain of conversation first, "It's definitely full of surprises. I mean there's this whole 'future heroes' thing, my best friend turns out to be the Boy Wonder, and our Inside the Villain's Mind teacher is flat our scary. Overall very, um, interesting."

"Well it can be quite overwhelming on the first day, Green. We have this kind of thing every year. And J'onn, he's not trying to totally creep you out, he's just very calm and it comes off very frightening."

I could feel Terra, Jinx, and Karen's eyes on me and I sunk a little lower in my seat. It wasn't my fault. If I displayed too much emotion, something would blow up. But over my high school and middle school years, I'd learned to keep the explosions under bay.

"Anything else?"

"The food rocks," Jinx piped up and we all laughed.

"Yeah well the cooks are put into two shifts. The first shift spends the first half of the week up here and the second down at NMS. And vice versa with the second shift. But the funny thing is that the food down there is down right horrible."

"Well we are more important…" Wally said.

"No we aren't. Remember, they are the 'kids of tomorrow'," Jinx put on professional voice.

We all laughed and that loud bell rang again. We filed out, still laughing. We streamed out of Arrowhead Hall and burst into a frenzied race to the cafeteria. It had been a long, eventful morning and I was ready for some down time. And it would be an eventful and enjoyable lunch indeed.

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**I know, _massive _cliffhanger. Just kidding...Next chapter is going to be loooong. **

**Here are my responses**

**CraneLee: Really? How kewl. I was just looking at a map for ideas of settings and I wanted a small city and, i found it. after a game of darts...Thanks 4 reading!**

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** If you celebrate Easter, happiness to ya. If not, like me, go buy yourself some chocolate :). **

**c yaz fanfictioners!**

**writing4alllifes**


	4. University: Easy or not?

**Here is Ch4. Hot off the press. Note this my friends, Raven has very good control over her emotions. She isn't a teen anymore. She has honed her skills. lol. enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: i wish i owned something other than Adrienne and Eric.**

**this chap is over 5,000 words!! omz**

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**Chapter 4**

**Outside the Cafeteria**

We had arrived in front of the cafeteria with Rich and me in the back of the group. The others walked through the door but Rich stopped me. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

I nodded and he led me to the side of the building. I looked up at him, "What is it, Rich?"

He smiled nervously and got down on one knee, "Rachel Roth, will you be my girlfriend?"

My heart skipped a beat and started to race. I stood there, stunned, for a second and then snapped back into reality. I looked down at his cute spiky hair and crystal blue eyes and his kind smile and decided my answer in a raced heartbeat. I smiled, "Yes."

He grinned and stood up. We leaned in and kissed. We broke apart and walked back to the cafeteria, hand in hand.

We strolled over to our table to discover we had a new table-mate. She was tall and brunette she had a nice tan and black eyes with a strange glint of red. She was very pretty, thin, muscular. And I suddenly realized who it was. The girl in charge of Super Affairs at NMS. Rachel or Adrienne. Adrienne. Except she looked older, even taller, and very different looking. Our table had divided into girls and boys. There was an open seat next to Jinx and I walked over to it. Adrienne had pulled up a chair and was sitting at the end of the table. She had a chicken Panini in front of her and a glass of water. I grabbed a salad, small sandwich, and a mug of tea and sat down next to Jinx.

"You're going out now, aren't you?" Adrienne asked what seemed to be the universal question.

I paused a second to build the anticipation among the four girls, "Yes."

They squealed and congratulated me. I waved them off, "Shut up! What are you doing here anyway, Adrienne?"

She smiled, "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got all the time in the lunch period! Go right ahead," Terra joked.

Adrienne laughed, "Alright. So, you guys probably don't know this, but Diana, Wonder Woman is the daughter of two of the Greek gods. Artemis and Ares," we nodded, appreciating the new info. "So I'm her half sister. Artemis is my mother and Hephaestus is my father."

I was surprised to tell you the truth. There were a few things that were a little hazy. One, Diana and Adrienne looked nothing alike. Two, HUGE age difference. And lastly, Artemis was a virgin. I mentioned this and Adrienne responded, waving a hand to dismiss it, "That was _then._ Mom kind of went back on that promise a long time ago. Way before Diana. Peer pressure I guess. Sadly, I inherited my father's dashing looks," she joked.

We laughed and she continued, "Anyway. Diana offered to let me come in the afternoons and weekends to take some classes to get prepared for later. I've been coming since third grade. I faked a _terrible _sickness to get here earlier. Diana doesn't mind though. She says high school is something worth missing, most of the time." Karen and Jinx snorted. Terra and I held our laughter at bay. Adrienne smiled, "I don't agree with her though. My eleventh grade year has been quite enjoyable."

"Eleventh grade? I thought you went to the middle school," I said.

"I'm seventeen. I just have to report to the middle school whenever someone needs to go up during the week."

"Oh. So what's been so good about eleventh grade?"

"Yeah, pray tell?" Jinx asked.

Adrienne blushed, "I don't know."

We 'ooo'ed and Karen said, "Oh, it's a boy. Go on tell us. We won't say a word."

We nodded in agreement and Adrienne sighed, "Fine. Well the thing is that he's here. Right there with the guys actually," she pointed to a tall, muscular boy sitting at the other end of the table. He had short dirty blond hair and beautiful brown eyes. He was wearing a black tee-shirt and blue jeans. He had black sunglasses resting on his head and was laughing and talking.

"He's cute," Jinx murmured.

"Hey! He happens to be my boyfriend, Eric."

"Whoa. Good job, Aid…" Terra muttered.

"Why's he up here?" I asked, turning my attention back to Adrienne (I'm gonna call her Aid now).

"He's Superman's son."

I froze. Superman had a son? "Who's the mom?"

"Woman named Louis Lane," Aid said and bit into her sandwich. "Superman's givin' him the same deal Diana's giving me. The one catch is that we have to find people to room with for the weekend. Anyone want to volunteer?"

"You can stay with us," Jinx volunteered and I nodded in agreement.

"Awesome. So where are you guys headed to next?"

"Strategies," I said and munched on my salad.

"Me too! Wait, let me see your schedules."

I handed her mine and her eyes got big, "Whoa. You guys too? They didn't tell us there were more."

"What?" I asked.

"You guys are the future JLW too?"

"The what?" Karen asked.

"Justice League of the World?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Karen replied.

"Cool beans. This is going to rock. I thought Eric and I were the only ones. That was a little stupid of me," Aid admitted.

"So, why are you here?" I asked.

"You see this Panini?" I nodded. "Do you see any on any of the other tables?"

"No,"

"You can make food appear?" Terra asked in awe.

"No. You'll figure it out later," Aid chuckled.

"So what's the story about Eric?" Jinx asked.

"He goes to Northside too and we've been friends since about first grade. We got really close after we started going here together. We've been going out since the beginning of the year. He's got his dad's powers and his mom's too. She was Superwoman for a while," Aid sipped her water thoughtfully.

"Wow. Quite a pair you two are. Anything _happen_ yet?" Jinx questioned suggestively.

Aid pushed her head down toward her food and we could all see the cherry red blush form on her cheeks. We all burst into laughter and she joined in after a second. I glanced at the clock on the wall and stopped laughing, "Time to go girlies."

We all caught our breath and got the boys out of their chairs. Aid introduced us to Eric as we walked out. He seemed nice enough. But only time would tell. We walked out of the cafeteria and into the sunny afternoon. Aid had drifted over to Eric and they were chatting up a storm. The boys were clumped together talking so us girls talked about the young couple we were observing.

"She's pretty cool. Daughter of the gods. Does that make her a god too?" Jinx asked

"I think so. That's so cool. We're friends with a god!" Karen exclaimed.

"Look at them! That boy is crazy about her," Terra looked over at the two.

Eric was poking Aid in the side and she was gasping for breath she was laughing so hard. Eric stopped and slid his arm around her shoulder. They were grinning like crazy. I rolled my eyes, "Kids."

"Like you're much better?" Karen said bluntly.

"Look who's talkin'!" I joked.

We all laughed. We all knew that we acted ridiculous around the guys. We talked and laughed all the way to Scream Hall. As we passed through the doorway I pondered the ominous name. Our group trooped into a yellow and black striped hallway. Florescent lights lit the way and it was an extremely short hallway compared to the past two we'd been in. But when we reached the yellow door we were met with a surprise. A sheet of white paper was taped on the door. It looked like this.

**Class of 1:00 report to Power Exercise. Report to Strategies on Wednesday.**

I checked my watch. We were the class of one o'clock. I sighed, "Let's head back."

"Where's PE anyway?" Gar asked.

"Just follow us," Eric said.

We walked out of the building and crossed the field toward the cafeteria. But instead of going inside, we veered to the left continued on. After five minutes we arrived in front of a building. A sign was hanging over the entrance saying Gym & P.E. Eric pushed the door open and we filed inside. In front of us were two doors. One marked Gym and one P.E. Into the P.E. door we went.

We entered a bare room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered with the kind of white stuff that would be in a mental institution. Suddenly the door opened behind us and we looked back. Nothing was there. We slowly turned back. Standing in the middle of the room was a tall muscular woman. She wore red tights, black boots, a brown tee-shirt, and black under armor. A black mask covered her eyes and her brown hair was up in a ponytail. But the most amazing thing was the brown wings that were sprouting out of her back. She smiled, "Welcome to PE. Power Exercise. I am Hawkgirl. You're going to call me Shay. I'm not going to bother with role call. I'm just going to explain this to you now. PE is self-explanatory. You come here to hone your powers. We're wasting no time. Aid, show us your power."

Aid nodded and stepped forward. Shay pulled out a remote control and clicked a button. Dummies made of straw popped up out of the floor all around Aid. Aid closed her eyes and the room suddenly got very hot. A red plume of smoke surrounded her and she screamed. I stepped back and bumped into Rich who put a hand on my shoulder. Aid was engulfed in flames. I couldn't see her through the flames licking around her. The flames suddenly disappeared and Aid had completely changed. Her whole body was like a volcano after an eruption. Dark igneous rock was floating on hot magma all over her body. Her eyes were reddish orange and her hair was now long strands of flames. Her feet were pure hot rock and her hands were made of pure hot magma. She looked over at us and grinned. Or at least I thought it was grin.

"Good job, Aid. That was twenty seconds quicker than last time. Go on," Shay congratulated.

Aid nodded and pointed a flaming finger at a dummy. From her finger a burst a funnel of flames. They hit the dummy head on and it exploded at contact. Aid snapped her fingers and a bow made out of flames appeared in her hands a flaming quiver full of arrows made of flame fell onto her back. She pulled some arrows out and fired them at several dummies. She snapped again and the bow disappeared. Aid stopped and flexed her fingers. In a matter of seconds she was back in flesh. All of our jaws had dropped, except for Eric's. He just smiled.

"Great job, Aid. Eric, you're up," Shay pressed another button as Eric stood up.

The burning dummies disappeared and dozens of large guns appeared, surrounding Eric at all sides. Eric smiled confidently and rose into the air. The guns started to fire. Eric stayed stock still and when the bullets hit him they stopped and fell to the ground. After thirty seconds, but what seemed like an hour, the guns stopped. Eric drifted back to the ground when suddenly a concrete cage fell over him. We gasped. But just as soon as he was trapped, he was out. The concrete fell to bits and we saw Eric's outstretched fist and we all gaped in amazement. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled. It seemed he was finished when a Hummer fell on him. It seemed he was expecting it though. Eric's pointer finger was in the air seconds before the giant car fell on him. The Hummer rested calmly on his finger. Eric hurled it up and smashed his fist into it as it came crashing down. The huge gas-guzzler split in two and landed on either side of him. Eric walked back over to us. I was surprised to say the least.

"Grayson?" Shay asked.

Rich nodded and stepped forward. Shay hit a button and the wreckage of the Hummer was replaced with troops of robots. They were standard really. Silver mechanics and plain faces. Rich bended his knees and brought his fists up. In a split second the robots were all over him. But something was wrong. Rich wasn't at the center. He was above them. And coming down fast. He kicked out his feet and knocked off half of the robots' heads. Rich landed in the middle of them and even the ones without heads started attacking. Rich punched one then back flipped into another one. He jumped onto another one's back and pulled some wires out of its back and jumped onto another one and did it again. He rocketed off the robot and slammed feet first into another. He bounced back and completed a series of twists and slammed himself into three robots. Punching and kicking and fancy flipping ensued and soon there weren't any robots left. Rich's breathing wasn't much different than it was before he'd gone out there. I was impressed.

"Good job, Rich. Who wants to go next?"

Just as she said that the bell rang. She rolled her eyes, "I hate that bell. Follow me."

She led us out of the room and to the middle of the room that held the two doors. She walked over to the wall and started to walk up it. We stared. She looked down at us and motioned for us to follow, "Come on," she opened a door

Wally walked up to the wall and put a foot on it. Then, foot after foot he followed Shay up. We followed cautiously and walked through the door into a dark room. The lights suddenly came on and we found ourselves back in the room we'd visited on our first night. The large table, the huge TV screen, and the high ceiling. Shay was sitting at the table.

"Sit down," she motioned to the chairs.

We gathered around and Shay began to talk again, "Welcome to Missions. No role call. In Missions you will be doing the obvious. Going on missions. In the beginning the missions will be small and then they'll get slowly bigger. Your first mission will be next Friday. Prepare yourselves over the next week. This first one will be the hardest. Failure is not an option. You work as a team. There is no villain hogging. You work together or you don't work at all. That is the key to being a super hero. If you can't work together you're never going to be in the JLW. And we want you ten to succeed. And trust me, if I'm the teacher you will succeed. If not, it's your fault," she shrugged.

We were silent. For the most part it sounded pretty easy. But we didn't know then how hard it was to work together. That annoying bell rang again and we walked out, defying gravity as we went. We stopped at the entry way.

"Where do we go next?" I asked.

"I don't know. We don't have to go to Gym and that Strategies class was canceled, so I guess we can do whatever," Aid said.

We walked out of the building and I checked my watch. It was around three. I Looked at Aid, "You want to go get your stuff and we'll put it in our room.?"

"Sure. Come on," she waved to me and Jinx and she led us to a tree in the middle of the field. She wrapped her hands around the trunk and pulled up. The tree was lifted out of the ground and Aid placed it to the side.

"Whoa," Jinx and I said.

In the tree's place was a giant hole. Aid looked at us, "Hold on." She dove into the hole. I looked down with Jinx. We were looking at a bird's eye view at what looked like a bedroom. Painted walls, dressers, a bed, posters on the wall. It was Aid's room. She moved around inside, grabbing random articles of clothing and throwing them in a bag. She threw the bag up when she was done and we caught it. She jumped up and replaced the tree. Again we were stunned at her strength.

She saw our faces, "Strength of the Gods', you know?" We nodded slowly and she walked over and grabbed her bag, "So, where are we going?"

"This way," we led her to our dorm room.

Minutes later Jinx was conjuring up a cot for Aid to sleep on. I was using my power to lazily help her put her stuff in a dresser Jinx had made appear. It was three-thirty now and we were bored. I picked up a book and flipped through it, "What do you guys want to do?"

"I dunno. What's fun to do here?" Jinx asked Aid.

Aid sat on her bed thoughtfully, "Well, usually there's the gym but it's locked today."

"I said fun, not exhausting," Jinx said playfully.

"I know!" Jinx exclaimed masterfully. "Boy Talk. Get the girls and meet us at that tree," she said to me grinning.

I laughed and stepped out of the room. I walked down the hall and knocked on Karen and Terra's door. Karen came to the door, "What's up, Rach?"

"Jinx is requiring you guys to come to the field for 'boy talk'," I said, bored.

"Awright! We'll catch up," Karen closed the door and I could hear her excited chatter as I walked down the hall.

I passed by Rich's door but turned back after someone said, "Wait up!"

Rich had come out of his room, hair drenched. He had a white undershirt on and jean shorts on. I smiled, "Yeah?"

He grinned and wrapped his arms around me, "May I interest you in dinner tonight, lovely maiden?"

I felt safe and warm in his arms. I laid my head on his strong chest, "Yes you may, daring knight."

I looked into his blue eyes as he grinned again, "Great, I'll pick you up around seven?"

I laughed and pulled away from him, "Whatever you say."

He smiled and I walked out of the dorm room and into the afternoon light. Jinx was chatting Aid up, no doubt about Eric, at the tree. I sat down and dove into the conversation. Aid was blushing and Jinx was smiling triumphantly. I looked at Jinx, "What did you do to the poor girl?"

"Just a little talk," Jinx smiled mischievously.

"Ah," I said, realizing. "Well I hope it went well," I said distractedly.

"Hey, hey! Don't start without us!" Karen and Terra were running across the field.

They slid across the grass to land next to us. They were brimming with energy. Karen was practically jumping up and down as she tried to tell us…something. I looked at Terra. She was looking out into space, smiling pleasantly. I cut off Karen's hardly understandable words, "What's with our star struck friend over here?"

Karen stopped and looked annoyed, "That's what I've been trying to tell you! The girl is _dazzled_ by that boy."

"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say-," I started.

"He kissed me!" Terra jumped up and danced around.

We cheered her on and laughed. I was completely distracted. I was acting almost the same as Terra was. Staring off into space. Thinking of Rich. I sighed happily. "What's with her?" Terra asked.

"I don't know. Hey, Earth to Rachel!" Jinx snapped in front of my face.

I blinked and realized they were all looking at me. I stuttered, trying to say something legible. I took a deep breath, "We're doing something for dinner."

They 'ooo'ed and we burst out laughing. I laid back in the grass and looked up at the sky. It'd been a long day. A very long day. And now we were all getting some time to ourselves…and our male friends. Maybe University wasn't going to be that hard. After all, once we finish all of our stuff for the day, we get the rest of the time to ourselves. We talked and laughed and told stories for what only seemed like a few minutes but when I looked at my watch it was six.

"It's six o'clock guys!"

"Awesome. I'm starving. Let's go eat," Terra stood up and stretched. We trooped over to the cafeteria where the boys were talking.

Rich stopped me before I could go inside, "Nope. Can't come in, Rach."

"Why?" Then I remembered, "Oh. Why do you get to go inside?"

"You'll see, you'll see," Rich teased and walked in.

"Urg," I pouted as the girls cast me forgiving glances. I crossed my arms and stormed back to the dormitory.

I sat on my bed, utterly ticked off. I was starving and grumpy. That's when I noticed the book on the floor. It was a few feet away from Aid's cot. I picked it up. It was a leather bound, thick book. I flipped it open. It was a journal. On the first page it said in scrawled handwriting: Rachel Adrienne Blaze. Her diary. Without thinking I opened it to the one of the last entries.

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**The most amazing thing happened. Eric got down on a knee and proposed! I can't believe it! I told him I had to think. But think I'm saying yes! He told me to take as long as I needed to think about it. He proposed at this fabulous restaurant, Le Soleil. It was so exciting. I have to go think. Can't wait to see Eric tomorrow!**_

_**Cool Beans,**_

_**Rachel A. B.**_

Another one, much more recent. The day she'd taken us up to JLU, actually.

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Today was tiring. I had to spend the WHOLE day over at the middle school. I had to put on that ring that makes me look like I'm in middle school. I was waaay too short. The freshmen this year seem interesting. Hopefully they'll behave better than the last batch. But, then again, it's just wishful thinking. I said yes to Eric! He was so excited. No one knows, except you. His parents will probably be fine with it. But mine. NO WAY. Mom will be all like 'You're too young. I was centuries old before I married.' Well Eric isn't immortal. He doesn't have centuries to wait for me. Dad, he'll be like 'I won't let you. You're too young. Don't like that boy anyway'. Well it isn't up to him! This is up to me and Eric. No one can stop us. **_

_**Cool Beans—I hope,**_

_**Rachel A. B.**_

I reread the entries. This was surprising. They were engaged. I put the diary down. Her parents would be right. She was too young. I'd have to talk to her. I glanced at the clock. Six fifty-five. Finally. I was so stunned by this news that I'd lost track of time. I stood up and took off my sweatshirt. I stretched and walked to the bathroom. I splashed my face with water and sighed as I looked into the mirror. Maybe what I thought earlier about University being fun and easy was wrong. Now I had to talk about marriage to a seventeen year old who was already engaged. And I was starving. I trudged out of the bathroom and into the hallway where Rich was about to knock on my door. He had a large box of what I hoped was food in his hands and had put a leather jacket on.

"Looking for someone, Richard? Perhaps a starving Rachel Roth?" I asked.

He jumped and looked relieved when he turned and saw it was me, "Actually I am. Happen to know where she went?"

I giggled and slapped him playfully on the arm. I looked at the box, "Please tell me there's food in there. I am going to die of starvation if I don't get some food."

"You'll see. Come on," he held out his hand and I took it happily.

We walked out of the dorm room and to the large field. Rich led me to a willow tree where he pulled something out of the large box. A blanket. He laid it on the ground and we sat down on it.

"You know, you weren't the only one starving. I didn't eat a thing. And now," he opened the box again, "the feast."

The box contained two large sandwiches, two salads, and a big piece of cake. We grabbed the sandwiches, ravenous with hunger. Rich and I laughed at ourselves and ate the sandwiches. The moon had come out and it was full and luminously beautiful. We munched on our salads, talking about the day and the classes.

"You, Boy Wonder, are an amazing fighter," I praised him, popping a cherry tomato in my mouth.

"Thanks. But I've been training a long time. Can't wait to see what you do," Rich leaned back and stared up at the moon. I joined him and grabbed his hand.

We turned our heads toward each other and smiled at one another. We kissed. I snuggled up to him and watched the moon drift through the sky.

The perfect moment was interrupted by a disappointing announcement over the intercom, "Curfew in five minutes. Anyone caught outside will be prohibited to go down tomorrow."

We cleaned up and ran to the dormitory, laughing the whole way. We snuck into the dorm and Rich walked me to my door.

"I had a great late dinner, Rich," I said, smiling.

"Me too. Thanks for coming," he smiled and award winning smile and kissed me.

A rush of happiness ran through me and the light above us popped off. We broke off and Rich looked up and smiled, "Oops."

"I'll see you tomorrow, my dark angel," he walked down the hall.

Dark angel? What was that all about? I walked inside my room. Jinx was lounging on her bed looking at her necklace. Aid was on her cot writing in her diary. I muttered a greeting and they muttered one back. I changed into my pajamas and laid down on my bed with a book. We were silent for a couple minutes when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Aid jumped up.

Jinx and I didn't see who it was, but we sure could guess. "Hey." Some mumbling. "Okay hold on." Aid turned to us, "I'll be back in a second." She smiled and closed the door behind her.

"Let's let 'em have a little fun," Jinx looked over at me, evil thoughts obviously in her mind.

I rolled my eyes, "Give 'em five minutes and then I'm bringing her back."

All of a sudden there was a small bump. Giggles. I pushed the book closer to my face. More giggles, pillow over my head. A muffled moan. I got up, "Can't stand this. I'll be back."

I opened the door and looked down the hallway. Disturbing sight. Aid was up against the wall, her legs wrapped around Eric's waist. Her arms moved around his back as they kissed. Eric was shirtless. He was pushed up against Aid and was holding her up, his hands on the underside of her legs. Some fierce making out going on. They were breathing hard, all over each other. They finally stopped for a second and smiled at each other. Eric's hands were traveling up her shirt. I coughed loudly. They froze and looked toward me. I am the queen of making people embarrassed. They reddened.

"Bedtime, kiddies," I smiled dryly.

Eric lowered Aid to the ground. Aid glanced at me and gave Eric a quick kiss. They smiled at each other and I could see that they truly loved each other. Aid walked back to me, death and extreme embarrassment in her cold, black eyes. I smiled cheerfully and opened the door for her.

"Have fun with your _friend_?" Jinx asked, looking up from a book she was reading.

"Just a lovely time. Until _someone,"_ she looked at me, "interrupted."

"It's my job. Professional party pooper at your service," I said sarcastically.

Jinx and Aid burst into laughter, "Rachel made a joke!"

I glared at them, "It's not impossible."

I could tell they were trying to keep their laughter in and I glared as they laughed into their hands. I said stonily, "Good night, Jinx. And her _naughty_," I looked pointedly at Aid, "friend."

There was silence for a second. More laughter. I rolled my eyes, grabbed a book, got under my covers, turned away from them, and opened the book. Truthfully, I wasn't reading. There were more important things at hand. After what I'd seen with Aid and her fiancé, I knew that that marriage talk of mine was going to be very difficult to complete. As I thought about it I realized that maybe I should just mind my own business. They seemed to care for each other very much. But young marriage, it doesn't usually work. And didn't you have to be eighteen anyway? This was going to be very confusing. But I had to do it. Aid might be immortal, but something as disastrous as this could be could haunt her forever. It was almost like Romeo and Juliet. Her parents wouldn't approve of him and would keep her away from him. I just hoped the death factor wouldn't come in. I decided that I would talk to her tomorrow. Sometime. She had classes but I would find a time. I put my book down and flicked off the lights with my dark power. The girls complained but no one made a move for the switch. I looked down at the grey shape that was Rachel Adrienne Blaze. Current fiancé and future wife of Eric…something. If only someone knew what Superman's last name was. I curled up in the covers and said goodbye to a way too long day. And my last thought was 'What if it works out for them?' And then, sleep overtook me.

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**There you go. What will happen? i wonder...thanks to all the reviewers! ur awesome. tell me what u think! i don't think this was my best but it ok. **

**writing4alllifes**

**peace out**


	5. Our wonderful day off

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Very short, I know. enjoy

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Aid and Eric.**

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**Chapter 5**

**The Next Morning**

Aid was my alarm clock. She fell off her bed, crashing into the floor. I practically jumped out of my bed. I helped her up and looked over at Jinx. Still sleeping. Amazing.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," she laughed, "having a one of those falling dreams."

"In rolling form? Sure," we laughed.

"What time is it?" she stretched.

I looked at my watch and yawned, "Eight. I need a shower, you?"

"Oh yeah. To the shower! Wait," she grabbed a ring off her dresser, "There we go," she marched out the door.

I marveled at her. Had she completely forgot about the little predicament I'd stopped last night? I raised an eyebrow and followed after. After entering I grabbed a towel and entered the stall next to Aid. Her water was already running. I took off my pajamas and turned on the hot water. I scrubbed my hair and soaped my body. That's when I realized that this was a good a time as ever to have that talk.

"Aid?" I raised my voice over the sound of running water.

"Yeah?"

"I know about your engagement."

Silence, then, "How?"

I paused. Damn. I didn't want her to know I'd gone snooping in her stuff. I swallowed, "Well, it was kind of obvious-,"

"You saw the ring, didn't you," she interrupted.

Ring? What ring? Oh yeah! The one she'd put on this morning! "Yeah."

She sighed, "I should've been more discreet. You won't tell anyone, right?"

"No. But I want to talk to you about it. Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said dreamily.

"But you're pretty young. Have you told your parents?"

She snorted, "Yeah right. Like they'd approve. They don't understand me. Usually, they're too busy to talk to me anyway."

"That's too bad. When's the date?"

"Soon actually. Late this month or early next. Invitations to, um, I guess you guys will be arriving…today!"

"Whoa. I'll be looking forward to it."

"Great. Just, don't tell Superman or anyone of the other heroes. They'll report right to Superman. And if Diana finds out, it'll be 'big half sister to the rescue'. After that mom and dad will find out and everything will be over," she sounded sad.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me," I assured her.

"Thanks, Rachel. You're a lifesaver. Eric and I are really happy together."

"Yeah, I saw that last night."

"Haha," she laughed nervously.

"Little excited out there, weren't we?"

"Shut up," she was probably red as a tomato.

I turned off the water, "Just kidding."

I dried off and pulled my pajamas back on. I was putting my hair up when Aid touched my hand, "Thanks again."

I nodded and she walked out. I followed and walked into my room. Jinx was up and stretching. She yawned a good morning and headed to the showers. Aid and I dressed and Jinx walked back in.

"So when do your classes start?" Jinx asked.

"Later tonight. So if you guys want to hit the town, Eric and I'll come with."

"Sounds great. But the thing I'm most interested in is breakfast!" Jinx exclaimed.

"Me too! To the caf!" Aid agreed and I followed them out.

When we got to the cafeteria our friends were already digging in to French toast and waffles. Aid sat down with Erica and began talking quietly. I wish I could share a knowing glance with someone, but there was no one. I grabbed a waffle and sat down next to Terra. I was near finishing the buttered waffle when Eric stood up and addressed us.

He cleared his voice, "Um, I have an announcement to make. Rachel, or Aid as she goes by now, and I want to invite all of you to our wedding at the end of the month."

"You guys are getting married?" Wally asked, stunned.

"Dude, that's awesome!" Gar exclaimed.

"Shh! We don't want any of them," Eric motioned to the superheroes' table, "to hear. This is a secret, okay?

"Alright, man. But are you two sure?" Vic asked, concerned.

"Yes. Absolutely sure," Aid slid an arm around Eric's waist and smiled.

"Well, congrats then," Vic said

"Thanks guys. All of you are coming, right?" Aid asked.

"Yeah," we agreed.

"Great. So you all want to go down to Roanoke this morning?" Eric asked us.

"Sounds great. Everyone done?" Rich asked and everyone responded 'yeah'. He smiled, "Let's go then. Lead the way Eric."

We walked out and into M.M. Hall. Gar murmured, "I thought I wouldn't have to come back here until Monday."

Eric chuckled, "Yeah, it's creepy in here. But the exit is down here."

We stopped halfway through and Eric turned to the wall to the right. He reached up and knocked five times, paused, and then knocked once. A giant whoosh and the wall slid out of sight. That left us looking at an empty street. "You guys should put on your disguises," Eric warned.

Gar, Vic, and Bee did whatever they needed to, and then Aid and Eric walked through the door and motioned for us to follow.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Downtown Roanoke. Let's meet over at that building at noon," Eric pointed to a large building.

We all agreed and we split off into twos. Aid and Eric, Gar and Terra, Karen and Vic, Wally and Jinx, and me and Rich. Rich and I took off to the right, opposite of where everyone else was headed.

"That was a surprise," he said and took my hand.

"Yeah. Yeah it was."

"I'm happy for them. I just hope everything works out okay."

"Me too. They seem really happy together."

"Mmm. What do you think of this place so far?"

I looked around. We were passing a museum and a bank was ahead of us, "It's, uh, got a lot of buildings."

He laughed, "That exciting, eh?"

"Oh yeah," I smiled.

"So, wanna show me your powers?"

I bit my lip, "Sure."

I focused my power on a nearby trashcan. I muttered, "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos."

The trashcan was surrounded in a black aura and I lifted it into the air. "Creepy," Rich muttered.

The trashcan fell to the ground. I turned to Rich, fuming. A window in the museum shattered. I growled, "Creepy? You think it's creepy?"

He immediately realized his mistake, "Oh, no. I meant-,"

I cut him off, "You meant, that's scary and weird and demonic. You meant what you said Rich," another window broke.

"I-uh. No, look-."

I didn't cut him off this time. A high pitched scream did. We turned to the direction of the noise and set off running. We rounded a corner and saw the problem. A large man was holding a gun to Karen's head. Vic was standing close, threatening the man.

"What are you trying to do, man?" Rich questioned with a menacing voice.

"Get lost, buddy," the man said nervously.

"No, time for _you_ to get lost," I said and used my powers to fling the gun out of his hand.

He let go of Karen and stumbled back, "Get away! Bad things are coming! They're coming!" he ran off.

I raised an eyebrow, "That was strange."

I walked over to Karen and helped her up. "Thanks, Rachel. That guy was a maniac."

"He was. Totally insane," I agreed.

"And what was that whole 'bad things are coming' thing about?"

"Tch, I have no idea."

"I do," Vic said. "Look!" he pointed to the building we were supposed to be meeting at.

I gasped. A giant, red monster was towering over the building. It had three red eyes, stringy white hair, and a large black belt with a giant black loincloth attached to it. It roared. I covered my ears and grimaced. I looked back up at the giant sadly. It growled ferociously and stamped toward us. I gulped. I knew exactly who and what it was. I'd met it before. And it was back to haunt me.

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**Cliffhanger...ooo. Rich and Rach get in a fight. boohoo. We all know who this mysterious monster is. But i'm not going to say it. sorry its so short, compared to the others anyway. i wanted to end it kind of...like i did. thnkx to the reviewers!**

**omz, kewl beans**

**writing4alllifes**


	6. Black, Blue, and Traitorous All Ove

**Finally, Chapter 6, I know. It's been forever and I'm sorry. I been super busy though. So here it is, Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Crying i own nothing. sad sad...**

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**Chapter 6**

Anger burned through my blood as I glared at the monster that towered over me and my friends.

"We've got a problem guys," Wally sped over to us with Jinx levitating next to him.

"We noticed, Wally, we noticed," Rich mumbled, staring up at the giant.

"Hey! Rich! There's a huge monster right there!!" Gar yelled and pointed up at the monster as he ran up as a horse with Terra riding. Terra hopped off and Gar changed back.

"Yeah, we know. Where's Eric and Aid?" I asked.

"I don't know. They were with us a second ago," Terra said.

"Were going to have to deal with this ourselves then," I said.

"Let's go!" Rich yelled.

We ran forward and everyone went different ways. Wally sped up the monster's leg and began attacking. Jinx levitated up and began flinging spells at it. Gar had morphed into a huge lion and was biting its leg. Vic had gone robot and was firing blue blasts of light at the giant. Karen had unfurled her wings and buzzed around its head throwing yellow blasts of electricity at it. Terra was atop a rock, hurling rocks at it. Rich was hopping from rooftop to rooftop pitching bird-a-rangs as he went.

I ran toward it, deciding to try something new. My emotions fled me and I rose into the air surrounded by an orb of dark light. I uprooted a light pole from the street and slammed it into the monster's head. It was already trying to swat Wally, kick Gar away, and dodge the rocks and electricity. When I hit the monster, it turned toward me. It roared, showing its huge teeth. Then it stopped. It looked at me and showed what I think was a smile.

"You think you and your puny friends can defeat me, little one? You are wrong!" its giant fist came around and slammed into me. I was flung across the city. I slammed into the ground at top speed. I knew I was covered in scratches and bruises but I attempted to get up, wincing. I was short of breath and my side was burning in pain.

"Here," I looked up and saw a hand. I grabbed it. It was perfectly smooth and hot to the touch. I pulled away and looked at the person attached to it.

Aid was smiling down at me, "Come on, I'll give you a hand."

She grabbed the hood of my sweatshirt and pulled me off the ground. Then she did something we didn't see in PE. Her feet turned red and then lava was spurting out of them, pulling her into the air. She was still clutching my hood so I went with her. The neck was getting tighter on me and I started choking. She must have realized this because she twisted me around and took me by the collar. Granted, it wasn't much better, but I wasn't choking.

"Where are we going?"

She smiled unpleasantly, "You'll see."

We were rising higher and higher into the air and we suddenly surged toward the giant. We stopped in front of the giant. Aid yelled, "I have her!"

The monster growled, "Good."

He grabbed me and roared, "Child, your friends are powerless against me. There is no hope for you."

"That's what you think!" Rich had climbed onto its shoulder while it was distracted. Rich jumped up to its face and plunged his bo-staff into one of its eyes.

The monster dropped me and clutched its eye. Rich jumped and grabbed me. We skidded into the ground and looked up to see the monster glaring down at us. Then two other figures appeared. Eric and Aid. They flew in front of the monster and sneered at us.

"The time has come. You will all be destroyed," Eric yelled at us.

"Traitors," Rich spat blood onto the pavement.

Then, they were surrounded in fire. When the smoke cleared, they were all gone. I looked around for our friends. They were sprawled all over, each wincing and trying to get up. Rich and I got up and helped the others up. Karen was fuming mad and scratched all over. Vic was dusting himself off and trying to rewire his arm that had been ripped open. Wally was limping badly and had a huge cut on his cheek. One of Gar's arms was limp, probably broken. Terra's ankle was twisted and one hand crushed. And we couldn't find Jinx.

"Where is she?" Wally was limping around desperately, trying to find her.

"Hold on, I'll find her," I closed my eyes and searched the area for Jinx's thoughts. If I could hear her, I could find her. And then I heard it. A faint call for help. I flipped my eyes open and moved purposely toward a large pile of rocks. I waved my hand and they were cast to the side. Jinx's limp form was lying underneath. Her limbs were battered and bruised and her breathing was shallow.

"We have to get her back up. Now," I whispered. She would die if we didn't.

Rich picked her up and we limped back to the wall that we'd come out of. It was rock solid. I touched the wall. No way to get through. Wally punched it and screamed in pain and frustration.

"No! Open, damn door!" he slumped against it hopelessly.

"There has to be a way," I muttered and leaned against it. There was a sharp click and I jumped back. The wall had slid apart and we were looking into M.M. Hall. We stood there for a moment, pleasantly shocked and then ran through. I ran down the hall as fast as I could and burst through the door franticly. I had no idea where to go. I hadn't expected an emergency on my third day there. I bit my lip and looked toward the cafeteria. Maybe…

"This way!" I yelled as the others came through the door and ran toward the cafeteria.

Rich was falling behind from the weight of Jinx so I flicked my hand and Jinx's almost lifeless form was surrounded in a black orb, following me across the courtyard. I burst into the cafeteria and dashed over to the door we'd entered on the night of our arrival. I ran faster than I'd ever ran down that dark hallway. I skidded into the large room and found myself looking at the JLA, eating lunch calmly. They looked up at the panting me and the still Jinx I'd placed on the floor.

"We've got a problem," I breathed as my friends raced in behind me.

They saw our injuries, worried faces, and the anger so apparent in Rich's eyes and stood up. Wally looked at them for a moment and then down at Jinx, "Do something!"

The Flash snapped out of the momentary stupor, picked Jinx up and sped out of the room. Diana stepped forward, "What happened? Where's Aid and Eric?"

I sighed and looked at my friends. They all knew about the betrayal, but this was Aid's half-sister and Eric's father. They wouldn't take it well. I looked them in the eye, "A monster attacked us while we were in the city. We tried to stop it but it overpowered us. Eric and Aid are in league with it. They almost handed me over to it," I glanced at Rich, "but I got away."

They looked shocked for a second and then Superman spoke gravely, "What was this monster? What did it look like?"

I gulped, "It was huge, red, and had three eyes."

"It was really powerful! I mean, like, muscles everywhere and roaring and growling and stuff," Gar exclaimed.

I looked down when I saw Diana's eyes widen slightly and then a look of realization came over her. She glanced at me and then looked at the others, "Go to your dorms. Now."

As I walked out she spoke again, "Ms. Roth, stay here."

I turned and found that Diana was the only one in the room. Where the others had gone was a mystery. I swallowed nervously, "What?"

"You and I both know who this monster was, right?"

I nodded guiltily. Diana suddenly looked sad, "I don't know why Adrienne and Eric would decide to follow something so evil, so destructive, but now they will be treated like any other villain. When you encounter them, you attack, you do not go easy on them because they used to be your friends. You are enemies now."

I nodded and walked out. The others were waiting for me in the cafeteria. They all had food and Rich handed me a sandwich. I bit into it and finally noticed their expectant looks.

"What?"

Terra rolled her eyes, "_What_ did she say!?"

"Ah. She said that they are our enemies now and we treat them the same as any other villain," I said, leaving out the other little bit. Chances were I would be up all night explaining to one of them anyway.

They all nodded but Karen, Terra, and Rich looked suspicious. We walked into the dorm, exhausted and aching all over. I walked into my room wearily, trying to ignore all my aches and pains. I sighed when I remembered that I was now without a roommate. Having no one to talk to I laid on my bed and curled up in the blankets, trying to forget what had happened. But I knew that it wasn't going to go away. It wasn't over.

Someone banged on my door, "Open up!!"

"It's unlocked," I said wearily.

Two people rushed into the room. Karen and Terra. They each had a small bag and a pillow with them. Karen dumped her stuff on Jinx's bed, "We're sleeping over until Jinx comes back."

"Yeah, don't want you to get lonely," Terra stretched out on Aid's old cot.

I closed my eyes, "Don't you guys need some help? Medical wise."

"No," Terra said, "I wrapped up my hand, it's fine. We put bandages and stuff on our other cuts. How about you?"

"I'm fine. Definitely worn out but okay," I lied. My side was on fire and I'd probably broken a couple ribs. I was doing my best to block out the pain. I'd wait until tomorrow to get help. I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. Pain seared through me. There was something wrong with my ribs because when I breathed deeply like that, I could feel a rib or two jab into me.

I must have gasped from the pain because Karen asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I reassured her.

I opened my eyes and looked at my friends. Karen was holding a TOTALTEEN magazine and Terra was reading a book. I looked closer at the cover. It was Aid's diary. "Enjoying that?" I asked her.

She looked up, startled, "Oh, ha. Yeah. Just looking to see if there was anything about what they had planned. But there's nothing."

"They're careful. Having parents like theirs you'd have to be. My question is, how'd they contact something like that?"

"I dunno. Kids these days," she smiled.

I snorted, "Yeah." I looked at Karen. She was engrossed in her magazine, "Karen, earth to Karen."

Karen glanced up, "Yeah?"

"What do you think? How could those two have gotten in contact with that monster?"

She seemed to debate it for a second, "Internet?"

Terra laughed, "For some strange reason I doubt that thing uses the internet."

Karen chuckled, "Yeah. Well, maybe it contacted them. Wanted to get some people on the inside before attacking so he'd know where to strike."

"That's a possibility," I yawned. "I'm exhausted. Wake me up for dinner."

They murmured about sleeping too so I put my head on the pillow and fell into a much-needed sleep.

Waking up never seemed to be nice and calming here. There is a very large list of what _had_ to happen to get me up. This is what Terra said after I mumbled into consciousness, "Well, first we had to whack you with pillows. Then Karen sat on you and flicked your ear. And when I opened one of your books….you kinda woke up."

Massive understatement. So I didn't really mumble into consciousness, so what? Sue me. Instead, I jumped up—flinging Karen off of me in turn—and grabbed the book that Terra had foolishly opened. I had placed it delicately back in its proper place and had taken a deep and relaxing breath—which gave me a ton of pain but I remained stoic.

Then I turned to my friends, "Don't touch my books."

They nodded cautiously and backed away from my bed very slowly. Truthfully, there was no need to be so harsh with them. It was a very minor book of spells that Terra had opened, but it still was too sacred for any of their eyes to read. The books I had were too important for people just to be propping open and flipping through. They were jewels…in a sense. After that I walked into the shower.

I turned on the water and sighed as the warm liquid washed over me. I leaned back and rested against the wall. Why was this happening? How had this happened? I knew the answer to that one. I'd been stupid and had trusted those two traitors right off. My mother had always told me that you should never trust _anyone_ until you knew _everything_ about them. Otherwise, horrible things could happen. And they had. Jinx was in the hospital and I was still exhausted. My stomach rumbled. Dinner. I turned the water out and grabbed a towel. But before I wrapped it around myself I saw my reflection in the mirror. The area where my ribs would be was a mix of black and purple. And there was an enlarged area where what I guessed was a rib was poking out. I could see a trail of dried blood all over my stomach and I grimaced and wrapped the towel over me. I winced as I breathed in and walked back into my room. The room was empty and a note was on my side table.

MEET US AT THE CAF. SOON. WE'RE HUNGRY!!

I rolled my eyes and got dressed painfully. Before I left I waved my hands around in a pattern and muttered a few illegible words to myself. The pain I had was gone and I felt my stomach. No bump, all better. The only spell my mother had ever taught me was that one and it had come in handy many times before. I sighed and made my way out of the dormitory.

I crossed the field slowly and quietly, not meeting the eyes of any of the people who passed by me. I checked the watch that I'd put on and saw that it was indeed dinner time. 6 o'clock sharp. My stomach rumbled again. I needed food. I quickened my pace and reached the cafeteria in no time at all. I strode over to my friends and sat down in between Rich and a distressed Wally.

"I just don't know if she's okay Rich! I-I just…" Wally's words died off.

"She's fine, Wally. Trust me, she'll be okay," I said as I sat down and grabbed a chicken wrap and a soda.

Wally nodded glumly. Rich smiled at me, "Sleeping Beauty awakes! What a miracle!"

I chuckled, "Yeah. Except I didn't get the same great treatment," I remembered Terra's description of my awakening.

He laughed and bit into his burger. I glanced around the table. Gar and Vic were comparing bruises and scrapes and Karen and Terra were whispering quietly. My suspicion raised and I knew that I would have some explaining to do tonight. I sighed and took a giant bite of my wrap. I closed my eyes and savored the taste. Delicious. I grabbed a water and took a gulp to wash it down. I glanced over at the superhero's table. They all seemed tired and were talking amongst themselves with looks of disgust and sadness. I only wished that in didn't know exactly what they were talking about. But I did and so I laid a hand on Wally's back. Wally had started mumbling to himself and it was getting annoying.

"Wally, Jinx is strong and is gonna be fine. You just watch. She'll be back with us by tomorrow morning," I sincerely hoped I was right because if I wasn't I was going to have to sit through his worried ranting tomorrow. And that wasn't on my list of Wanted Things To Do On My Day Off.

Wally smiled, "You really think so?"

"I know so," I smiled.

He grinned and I turned toward Rich, "How long has he been going on like this?"

Rich sighed, "Since we got back. We couldn't figure out where they took her so Wally's just been telling us how worried he is. Quite annoying, really."

"I can imagine," I mumbled.

"So what do you think?"

"Of what?"

He rolled his eyes, "About them."

"Oh. _Them,_" Aid and Eric, of course. "I really don't know. It was a complete surprise to me."

"Me too. I didn't think they'd do something so rash as that. And just hours before they'd invited us to their wedding! I mean really! Bad timing," Rich ranted.

"I know, it's weird. They really seemed like good kids. But I guess it's the way things have to be now."

Rich nodded glumly and we ate in silence.

Dinner ended swiftly and we trudged back to the dorm in a dampened mood—and the rain that started when we were halfway over didn't help. The girls and I dried off in my room and then Karen and Terra had me cornered.

I was sitting up in my bed reading when they suddenly appeared beside my bed. I looked up at their determined faces and feared the worst, "Yeah?"

"Girl, we know you know something that we don't know!" Karen exclaimed.

I paused, trying to piece together what she said, "And that would be?"

"We don't know!" Terra exclaimed.

Karen slapped her arm, "Yes we do! Sorta. You know something about that monster that attacked us today. So spill. We won't let you move until you tell," she threatened.

I sighed and closed my book, "I see I have no choice."

Someone knocked on the door. Terra yelled, "Who is it?"

"Boy Wonder," Rich said dryly.

Terra got up and opened the door. Rich stepped in and saw me, surrounded and looking annoyed. He looked at Karen, "It looks like we have the same idea."

He sat down on the floor and the other two joined him. I sat up and crossed my legs Indian style. Rich smirked and ran a hand through his hair, "Go on. I want to know too."

I sighed and took a deep breath, "Alright then, I guess I'll just tell it to you straight…"

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**Dun Dun Dun...cliffie. again. I hope u like it! thank u reviewers u all rock. the next chap will take a while but i will get it done...eventually. i have a large project(writing)at the moment so ill work on this in my free time :)**

**Peace out my kewl beans**

**writing4alllifes**


	7. Sadness Comes, But Never Leaves

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Hey, here's Chapter 7. I know it's been a while but i've had school, track, and a ba-zillion other things going on. I know this one is short(for me)but...o well.

Enjoy

Disclaimer:Ha..if i owned the teen titans i would be ecstatic. but i dont. so im just content...

:P writing4alllifes

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**Chapter 7**

_I sighed and took a deep breath, "Alright then, I guess I'll just tell it to you straight…"_

"…That monster is…was my father."

My three friends gaped at me unbelievingly. I nodded gravely as if to confirm it.

Terra tried to piece some words together, "You…but it…no! Really?"

I closed my eyes in shame, "Yes."

Karen muttered, "Whoa. That's just too weird. You don't look anything alike!"  
"Really? I thought they had the same hair color, didn't you?" Rich asked, sarcasm enveloping his every word.

I rolled my eyes, "He's a demon. Bad mojo."

"Wouldn't that mean that you're a demon too?" Karen asked.

I shook my head, "No, only half."

"Half…whoa. What was your dad doing here? Or was this just a little family reunion?" Rich asked.

"No. He was here for me. He wants to bring me over to his side, to become a tool of his evil army," I recounted forlornly.

"What about your mom?" Terra asked.

I sighed, "She died a long time ago. But her last wishes were that I never follow in the path of _him,"_ I said his name as if it were mud. "And I won't."

They nodded.

Rich looked at me, "So your dad, he didn't really move to Russia, did he?"

"No," I said shamefully, "something horrible happened." I felt tears coming to my eyes as I remembered, "Do you remember that four block fire back in third grade?"

Rich's eyes widened, "How could I forget?"

"Yeah, well that was him leaving. My parents had gotten into a humungous fight about who knows what and my father went mad. He turned into his true self and raged havoc on the neighborhood. That's how it happened, the fire. He can breathe fire. It's pretty damn scary. And then he just disappeared. I know that my mother knew where he went, and I have a hunch."

They absorbed it. "What's your hunch?" Karen asked.

"He went to my home world, Azarath. He went back to take control," I said glumly.

A tear dripped from my eye and I turned away from them, it wasn't my fault that I had a demonic father. And now I was going to be alone in my crusade against that monster of a dad. They were going to be totally freaked out and terrified of me now.

But then I felt comforting arms around me. I opened my eyes, surprised. My three friends that held the most secret and terrifying information I held were holding me and saying it was alright. I frowned in a confused way, "Wait, aren't you guys scared? Wanting to get away from the demon girl?"

They shook their heads as if what I'd said was nonsense. Terra gave me a hug, "Are you kidding, girl? It's not your fault and you're not him. You aren't evil!"

"Yeah! You just got anger problems!" Karen joked and I tossed a pillow at her. She laughed, "My point!"

I laughed, "Thanks guys. I was so scared…"

Rich frowned, "Of what?"

"Nothing, nothing. Well, thanks," I said, changing the subject.

"What are friends for?" Rich asked, sliding a hand around my waist and kissed me.

The girls 'Awww'-ed and I blushed profusely.

Karen yawned, "You know what? I'm tired. G'night!"

Terra and her collapsed onto their beds and in mere seconds, they were snoring. Rich chuckled and kissed me. I relished the sweetness and tenderness of it and looped my hands 

around his neck. We fell onto my bed and laid there next to each other, smiling. I felt so strangely complete with him just there beside me, holding me and smiling.

I snuggled up to him and muttered, "It's just so hard, Rich."

I felt a tear fall from my eye and onto his plain blue shirt. He wrapped his arms around me, "It's alright Rae. Everything's going to be alright."

I closed my eyes and rested my head against his strong chest. I sighed and thought sadly to myself, _No, it's not going to be alright._ Sleep overtook me in a sudden rush of happiness as Rich kissed my head.

My dreams were muddled and confusing. I was in a dimly lit room, sitting in a chair in front of a table. I felt pain searing all through my body and I groaned. I lifted a hand wearily to my face and winced as I ran my hand over dried blood and burns. I closed my eyes and tried to make the pain fall into a secluded place inside of me. But it didn't work because at that moment there was a whistling of wind and then something struck me hard in the face. I flew out of the chair and onto the floor, gasping in the sudden pain. I looked up and saw a tall man around thirty-five years old. Immediately I ignored the pain and rage spread through me. The man was an albino, white messy hair covering his tan skin. He wore a suit and smart shoes. His eyes were hard and fierce, full of anger and danger. His nose was crooked and his mouth held an evil grin.

"I am back, daughter," he said quietly and disappeared into thin air.

I leaned up and threw the chair across the room. Anger welled up in my heart as I looked at the place where my 'father' in his human form had just been. Then I collapsed in pain.

"Whoa, did I just walk in on something? Maybe I should come back later," a voice said.

I opened my eyes and looked around.

Jinx was standing in the doorway, eyes on me…and Rich.

I gasped, "Oh, jeez, no! Nothing, I swear!"

She chuckled, "Aw, I know! You guys got clothes on!"

I jumped up, falling over Terra, successfully waking her up. She popped up, saw Jinx and screeched, "You're back!!"

That woke up Karen and Rich. Karen and Terra ran to hug Jinx and I joined them after a moment's hesitation.

"Alright, alright! Yes, I'm back. I'm fine," Jinx pulled us off her and laughed.

Rich yawned, "No cast?"

Jinx shook her head, "Nope, apparently they have people who can heal like that," she snapped her fingers.

"Wow," I said distractedly. I looked at Karen and Terra, "You guys might want to get out now…She _is _back."

"Yeah," Terra gathered her stuff up.

Karen grumbled playfully, "Aw, you know she just wants more time with the Boy Wonder. You better get moving too Jinxy, girl."

I slapped her and everyone laughed. Rich slid his arm around my waist and hugged me. He smiled a crooked smile and walked to the door, "I'll see you guys at breakfast."

We bid our goodbyes and then Karen and Terra departed to their room. Jinx collapsed on her bed in a tire heap. I sat down on mine and brushed my hair.

"First things first Jinx, go see Wally. He is worried sick. Getting extremely annoying," I yawned and stretched.

She nodded, "I know. He's always like that."

My eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

She snorted, "Ha! No! Just pullin' your leg. Shower?"

I nodded and we walked in together. A relaxing shower ensued and I walked back to the room alone, Jinx was taking forever. I dressed in jeans, black under armor, a purple tee shirt, and put my hair in a ponytail. I sat on my bed and was about to pick up a book when I noticed some words on the floor. They were carved in, as if by a knife, right next to Aid's cot. I got down on the floor and read them.

**RUSH A TRI GONE SI BER E A**

**R.A.G.**

I frowned. What? Had Aid written this? I squinted at the last three letters. R, A, and G. The first two letters. Rachel Adrienne. G? Who knew? But the rest of it….what did it mean? Rush a tri gone si ber e a. I wrote it down and stared at it. It made no sense whatsoever. I stuffed it in my pocket and stood up.

That's when I noticed the calendar on Jinx's side of the room. It was opened to September. September 14. Tears came to my eyes as I suddenly remembered. This was the day, over 9 years ago, that my mother had died. Or, rather, vanished into thin air. I considered it dying. A tear dropped from my eye and the calendar flew off the wall. I regained my composure and put it back up. I sniffled and walked out of the room. Jinx was walking in and she asked for me to save her a seat in the cafeteria. I nodded quickly and ran off, letting tear after tear escape my eyes.

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**And there you have it. mysterious letters on the floor, the best friends ever, and Rachel's mom's death...sad sad, i know. next chap...who knows? mebbe sometime this weekend. **

**thanx to my reviewers! u all rock, and u know it.**

**:P writing4alllifes**


	8. Bad Memories

**And...Ch.8! I've been sick so I had time to get this chapter finished. I'm just hoping the inspiration didn't come from a massive stomach ache...Anyway..Hope you all like it...lol**

**Disclaimer: Woe is me, for I own nothing. lol**

**peacewriting4alllifes**

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**Chapter 8**

I set across the field, wiping the tears from my eyes. The day my mother, Arella Roth, had disappeared was only two weeks after my father's rampage.

It had been a calm rainy day and my mother and I were sitting in the kitchen drinking our normal herbal tea. My mother was clad in her usual white cloak, blue jeans, and white tank top and looking strangely happy considering the past events. I was in a brown sweatshirt and shorts. I was looking at my mother warily and sipping my tea, my violet hair falling into my eyes. I waved my feet under the table and finally decided to ask my mother the question that had been haunting me since my father's depart.

I looked up at the lady that was my mother, best friend, and idol. I blinked and gave her my first ever serious look in the eyes, "Mother. I need to know. What is going on?"

She put down her tea and sighed. She tucked a strand of pure white hair behind her ear and swirled the spoon in her tea with the tip of her finger. She pushed the tea away from her and turned to face me. Then she spoke in her sharp British accent, "Rachel, my daughter, what has happened was not meant to be until you were much older. But what is, is, so I must tell you," she paused and took a deep breath. "Your father is a demon of great proportion. His name is feared among every non-human with any common sense," she looked amused as she glanced at a picture of my rather small and impish looking Uncle Montrano. "I, on the other hand, am an empath. Meaning that I can control and move things with my mind at the mere thought of doing so," to demonstrate she moved the spoon in her tea without touching it. I watched the spoon, shocked and amazed.

"You-You can do that?" I looked up at her, stunned.

She smiled softly, "Yes, my daughter. And many things more. But today I must leave you. I must go back to my home planet, Aazarath, where I will help form a resistance that will work against your evil father," she said quietly but with a hint of excitement.

A pang of fear and sadness hit my heart and I looked up at her with big, sad, violet eyes, "What? You're leaving me? You can't, mother! I cannot live here alone! Not without you!"

A tear fell from my mother's eye and she wiped it away sadly. She took my hands, "Rachel Roth, you are brave, you are strong. You are my daughter and you will be able to go through life without me there beside you. You can find more directions in the top drawer of my dresser. But now I must leave you, my daughter," she kissed my forehead and stood up gracefully.

"No! Mother! You musn't leave me!" I jumped out of my chair and stood defiantly in front of her.

She put a hand on my shoulder, "I must. And you must be strong, Rachel. My little raven," she brushed a tear from my eye and touched my hair lovingly.

Arella stepped back and smiled widely. She looked toward the ceiling, or maybe to the heavens, and a bright white light surrounded her. She began to drift up and up toward the ceiling and then disappeared through it. I gasped and ran madly up the stairs to see her disappear through the next ceiling. Up I went to the attic where I glimpsed my mother sail through the roof. I opened the attic window, leaned out it, and watched as my mother sailed through the sky. I cried out in fury and found the window pane shattering to pieces. Tears streamed down my face as I looked down in despair. I saw a young boy my age standing below, guarding his head from the falling glass. He looked up.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" he yelled.

I looked down at him sadly with tears in my eyes. I looked away and pulled the window shut and ran to my mother's room and collapsed on it in tears. I stayed there for what seemed like hours, crying my heart out in sadness and anger at my mother's deliberate deserting of me. When I composed myself and blew my nose I shuffled over to my mother's dresser and stood on tip-toe to open her top drawer. I felt around it, recognize the soft touch of her white robes and then the rouch paper of an envelope. I pulled it out and opened it up. I nervously began to read. With the letter done with, I took a white robe from that top drawer, pulled a giant book off her book case. I walked down the steps with the robe trailing behind me, sat down at the table, and opened the big book to the first page of ancient spells. And so began my flight to many turbulent years of loneliness and study.

I sniffled and opened the door to the cafeteria. I wearily sat down at our table in between Rich and Vic and snatched a piece of toast from under Vic's nose. The reminder of the day of my mother's departure had put me into a downright foul mood.

Vic noticed, "What's wrong Rachel? Wake up on the wrong side of Rich?"

He snickered and punched Rich in the arm. I levitated a pile of eggs into his face and bit into my toast. I sipped some orange juice, "I'm fine."

"C'mon, Rach. I've gotten to know you pretty well over this summer and I can tell that something's wrong. You can tell me, c'mon," Vic whined.

I sighed, "Oh, fine…Today…is the day, ten years ago, that my mother disappeared."

Vic frowned, "I thought she died."

"Kinda. She kind of flew away one day…to go back home," I said sadly.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Rae. It's alright though, I mean she probably had a good reason," Vic reasoned.

I looked down at the toast, "Yeah, maybe."

I severely doubted Vic's guess. My mother's little 'resistance' hadn't done anything to stop my father from attacking us. Maybe her flight back home hadn't gone as successfully as planned. I pushed my toast away and put my elbows on the table, frustrated. I felt a sudden cool wind brush against my back and all of a sudden there was a piece of paper in front of me. I opened it up to see scrawled handwriting running across the page.

**ROTH AND COMPANY**

**Your attendance is required in the room you traveled to your first night here at the University. Gather yourselves quickly and report to us.**

**Now,**

**WW, Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, The Flash, and company**

I looked at my friends who were now all in attendance and digging into breakfast.

"Grab a piece of toast everyone, we're needed," I pointed to the door.

They all nodded tiredly and we got up as one. The other students in the hall watched us go, as if they knew why we were going where we were. If so, they knew a lot more than us. I led my group forward and through the door. We trailed silently through the dimly lit hallway and the only sounds were our feet against the floor. We entered the large room and found the superheroes waiting there for us. They turned to us as we walked in and Flash got to his feet. A streak of red and yellow rushed by us and we all found ourselves with brown packages in our hands when it went away.

Then Diana got up, "Good morning, freshmen. In your hands you hold the last component to your super hero lives. Uniforms," she said proudly. She waved to another door that seemed to just appear, "Go through there and change."

We silently complied and walked through the door into what looked like one of those dressing rooms in JC Penny and Macys' (don't own lol). We each went into stalls and I unwrapped my package. And I found a piece of clothing that just topped off my already horrid day of memories. A cloak with a hood, just like my mother's. Except it was jet black. I held it to my heart for a second and then looked at the other pieces of clothing. A pair of black boots, a cool belt, and a blue leotard. I dressed into them and observed myself in the mirror. To be honest, it looked downright awesome. The black cloak billowed around me menacingly and the leotard just showed me off. I smiled internally, gathered my clothes and put them in the box that my uniform had come in, and walked out of the changing room. Rich, Wally, Jinx, and Terra were already out and, seconds after I'd emerged, Gar, Vic, and Karen walked out. We all looked each other over.

Rich was not wearing his Robin uniform. Instead, he had a spandex black body suit with the outline of a blue bird on the chest. He had his black mask on and black running shoes. I loved it. The spandex really showed off all of the muscles on his chest. I wanted to sigh happily right then but resisted the urge. Wally looked quite dashing. He had a spandex suit like Rich but it was yellow with red legs and a red lightning bolt in the middle. His mask was red with yellow electric shocks coming out the sides. His red hair was falling into his eyes and I had to say that Jinx was a very lucky girl. Speaking of Jinx. Sadly, Jinx did not look that much different than she did before. Sure, the clothes were different but other than that nothing changed too much. Same color scheme and everything. Black and pink tights, black boots, a black long sleeve/dress type thing with a pink collar, and black ribbons surrounding her pink hair that was sculpted like two devil horns. And she didn't look too happy about it. Terra looked energetic as usual. She was wearing blue shorts, a white long sleeved shirt, a brown short sleeved shirt, and goggles on top of her head. She had big brown combat boots on too. Gar was clad in a spandex suit that cut off at his knees. It was black with purple in the middle. He had black boots and gloves. He had his hands on his hips, superhero style. It looked like they'd given Vic a lot of stickers. And that was it. Now, some of his robotic parts had blue on them. And that was it. He looked strangely excited though. Karen had black spandex tights, yellow boots, a yellow and black striped top, and a belt that held her two electricity blasters. Overall I think we looked good.

"Hey, Vic. Why are you so excited, man? It looks like you just got stickers!" Gar exclaimed.

Vic grinned, "They're high-tech! They give me extra juice and power, dude! It is awesome!"

Jinx walked over to me looking utterly ticked, "I am severely disappointed. This is almost just like what I wear every day!"

:"Don't worry about it. You look good. And I'm not the only one who thinks so," I casually nodded at Wally who couldn't stop looking at Jinx.

Jinx blushed and turned away from him, "Same thing with you, Rae."

Rich was also eyeing me and I turned around with Jinx, totally embarrassed. Jinx started toward the door and we all followed. We entered the room full of heroes and took in their murmurs of approval with appreciation.

Superman said proudly, "They already look ready to go into the field."

"Yes, well all too soon they will be," Diana said.

"What? We get to go fight bad guys?!" Gar exclaimed, excited.

Diana smiled wryly, "Yes, you do, Mr. Logan. The monster you encountered, Trigon, is your first mission. You will have to track him down and defeat him."

We were all shocked. After severl moments of akward silence I spoke up, "And how do you expect us to do that? You know how powerful he is! All of us combined couldn't defeat him!"

"Who said it would be just you eight? You have two more companions," Diana said mysteriously.

"Oh yeah? And who would they be?" I asked curiously.

Diana snapped her fingers and the rock ceiling parted. And through them drifted two forms. They each had cloaks trailing behind them. I stared in utter surprise as they landed on the ground. But my eyes were only on one of them. The taller one of the two with white hair and a white cloak.

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**Ooooh. Who could it be...? Thnkx reviewers! i 3 ur support. its what makes me keep writing this...**

**peace guys and galswriting4alllifes**


	9. Family Reunions, Love 'Em

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Two chapters in the same day! Both long :). happy...and having waaay too much time on my hands. wtvr. enjoy

**Disclaimer: dont own. except Jade. i kinda made her up..**

**lol peacewriting4alllifes**

**Chapter 9**

With tears of surprised and momentary joy in my eyes I ran forward and embraced the woman, "Mother?"

"I am back, my dear daughter," she put her arms around me and we held each other.

I cried into her shoulder and she ran a hand through my hair. We broke apart and she looked at me in my uniform.

"Look at you," she wiped a tear from her eye, "You're all grown up. You look lovely, Rachel. And see, you survived ten years on your own. You are ready."

I stepped back from her, remembering the sense of betrayal that I'd felt for all of those years. I gave her that ever-so perfect glare, "Yes I survived, mother. With no help. And now you come back. After ten years, exactly," I said with venom in my voice.

She looked sad, "I did not want to leave you, Rachel. But it was of the utmost importance that I did. Otherwise, your world would be in ruins by now…with you to blame."

I was speechless, for a second. Then I was like, "What do you mean?"

"All will be explained later. I am just so glad to see you. And these are your friends, I presume?"

"Yes," I said uncomfortably.

I introduced them all and she greeted each one with enthusiasm. I watched my mother. She looked much older now, with wrinkles and lines all over her face, illustrating how much she had aged. She did not move with anymore slowness than ten years ago, although she had a slight limp that I hardly noticed. Once everyone was introduced I finally noticed the other girl who had accompanied my mother. She looked around nine or so years old. She wore a dark green cloak, ripped jeans, and a brown tee-shirt. She had black hair with small streaks of red in it and had bright yellow eyes that looked like the sun. She was smiling and looking amused. She was shifting her weight from black combat boot to black combat boot almost nervously, but I think it might have been excitement. When my mother got finished introducing herself she walked back over to the girl.

"So who is this?" I asked, looking at the girl.

My mother looked nervously from her to me and then back. She took a deep breath, "Rachel, this is…your half sister, Jade."

I stood there, frozen to the spot and speechless. I had a sister. My mother had had a child while she was away from me. I stared at the small girl in front of me with a trace of venom. This girl, Jade, had had my mother for those ten years or so when I hadn't. I clenched my fists but the girl took no notice as she ran forward and hugged me, her arms only able to reach around my waist.

"Hi. I'm so glad to finally meet you. Mom tells me about you all the time," she broke away from me and smiled brightly.

I winced as she said 'mom' but managed a weak smile. I stuttered, "I-I don't know…what to say."

"You do not have to say a thing. I know it is hard for you right now, but you must absorb this quickly. We have an urgent mission to complete now and no time must be wasted. So food comes first. Where is it, then?" my mother asked.

The others laughed and the superheroes dismissed us. We walked back through the hallway and the little girl Jade took my hand.

"I know you don't like me. Your expressions are very obvious. The resentment is practically radiating off of you. But don't blame your mother, things that have happened, have happened and you cannot change it. Sometimes it is good to accept things and move on. And I'm not that bad of a kid, ya'know?" she said cheerfully.

I was more than a little amazed at her logic but nodded anyway, "I don't mean to…it's just such a shock…after so many years…" I trailed off.

She nodded and skipped forward. I watched in amazement as she started chatting up Rich. How could she-

"She doesn't have to control her emotions like you, Rachel," my mother appeared beside me. "She is a prodigy. She can sense peoples' emotions as if they were an open book and she is just leafing through them. She moves objects at will, with barely a though about it. Jade has assisted greatly in the Resistance."

"That's great, mom," I felt uncomfortable at saying 'mom' to someone, even her, after so many years.

"But tell me. How have you been?"

I looked her in the eye, "Mother, I have been studying your books for years. I have practiced your spells, I have succeeded in school, and I have made my emotions stay at bay. And I hope that now, after all I had to go through, that I get to know why."

"Why I had to leave? My child, I am sorry, but I cannot tell you much. I had to lead the Resistance against your father, who was ruling our land with horrible rage. But your place was here, on Earth, where you would be safe."

"Fine," I said calmly. "Where are you two staying?"

"I am staying in a room arranged by Diana, but I would appreciate it if you let Jade sleep with you and your roommate. It would be good if you got to know her."

"Alright. But…why did you come back now?"

"Ah, well your father escaped to Earth. And then he attacked you. Diana contacted me and asked for me to bring myself and one other here to help in this campaign against him. And here we are, in my old home."

I nodded as we walked through the door and back into the cafeteria. Heads turned toward us and followed us all until we sat down. My mother did not notice a thing. She seemed absolutely amazed by the brilliant light streaming in through the windows and the happy conversation in the room. Jade too seemed equally transfixed and couldn't stop turning around in her seat to look out the window.

"You mind if Jinx stays with us?" I asked Jinx as I sat down next to her.

"Ha, no way! That little girl is awesome. I can't believe she's your sister, er, half sister," she said nervously.

"Yeah. I find it a little strange too. And look at them. They seem to be soaking it all up," I said, looking at my relatives.

"Well maybe on their planet it isn't so bright and cheery. But how are you doing, Rach? This is a little bit of a surprise, isn't it?" she patted down her pink bangs.

I hesitated, "I-Truthfully, I don't know. It's just that I never expected her to come back. Ever. I thought she was dead for a while. But then I remembered all the Resistance talk."

She patted my shoulder, "It's gonna be alright. We'll get this Trigon thing over with soon and then…who knows. It'll just be a little bit of catching up to do. You just hang tight."

"Alright. Now look at them! It's like they've never seen food!" I motioned to them.

They were stuffing themselves with food. Jade looked up and grinned, "Inter-dimensional travel. Killer on the stomach."

Jinx laughed and I chuckled. I sighed and looked at my mother. The woman I had once known to be strong and full of hope now looked exhausted and downcast. She ate her eggs and bacon with vigor, but something was lost in her. Maybe the ten years in the Resistance thing took a real toll on her. I know my ten years alone had been bad, but not that bad. I took a piece of bread and picked it apart.

How could she come back after all these years, and with a child? What did she expect me to do? Welcome her back into my life with open arms? Well she was going to be pretty disappointed, wasn't she? I wasn't going to do that. Not after all I'd gone through, no way.

I got up from the table and walked out of the cafeteria quietly. I walked to the side of the building and rested my back against the brick wall.

"Urg," I turned around and banged my head softly against the wall. "Why?" I asked no one in particular and leaned against the wall.

"Because you need them now," a voice said.

I jumped away from the wall and looked around. From around a corner a man with a black spandex suit with a blue hawk on the chest stepper out and smiled crookedly.

I sighed, "Do you really think so?"

He took me in a hug, "Yes. This is a time when you really need her."

"I needed her all of those years! But she didn't come," I put my head on his chest.

"But you said it yourself. There's no way we could defeat your father with out help. And here they are, your specialized help. Don't hold a grudge against your mom."

"I guess. But it's going to be hard not to. I mean, ten years all alone. That's just a little hard," I said.

"I know, Rach. I know," he held me tighter.

I broke apart and changed the subject, "Is it really Sunday?"

He laughed, "Yeah, it's kind of hard to believe. So much has been going on."

"Hmm," I agreed. "Well the, what do we do now?"

"Well…" Rich said suggestively.

"No time for that, guys," we turned, surprised.

Standing there was Wally in his uniform. He was grinning proudly, as if intruding on me and Rich was funny.

"Well what do we have to do, then?" Rich asked.

Wally held up a sheaf of papers, "Paperwork. Superhero paperwork."

I groaned, "Are you serious?"

"Sadly," Wally grinned.

"Here you two go," he handed us each a packet of papers. "Come on. We're all doing the paperwork in the library."

He zoomed off. I turned to Rich, "Where's the library?"

"Follow me," he took my hand and we walked to the front of the cafeteria and across the field. We walked past M.M. Hall and Arrowhead Hall and to a squat little building. A small sign beside it said **JLU LIBRARY. **We walked in and saw our friends gathered around a table with pens in hand.

I sat down next to Jinx, "Where's Jade and my mom?"

She laughed, "They're still eating! But look at this paperwork! There's so much."

I leafed through, "Wow, you're right. We better get to work."

I looked at the first page. Name, family info, address, etc. I looked over at Rich and saw him hesitate on **SIBLINGS. **Then he scribbled something in and flipped the page. I frowned in curiosity and then filled out my info. The next page wanted me to describe my uniform, the people in my hero group, and to give myself a superhero name. I did the uniform bit and then put all of my friends' names on the hero group line. I paused at the name thing. I had no idea what to put down. I thought through it carefully. I shifted through several names but then I remembered something. What my mother said when she left me that day ten years ago. _"My little raven."_

I scribbled in the box. _Raven._ I smiled internally and flipped to the last page. It said in big bold letters, **Welcome To The Life Of A Superhero. You Are Now Part of the ****TITANS.**

I looked up, "Everyone else part of the…Titans?"

They nodded.

"So what did you guys choose for names?" Gar asked.

Wally smiled, "Kid Flash."

"Mine is just stayin' the same," Jinx said.

"Cyborg. It fits," Vic laughed.

"It took me a while but I decided on Bumblebee. Or Bee," Karen said, stretching her wings.

"Beast Man!" Gar said.

"Uh…you sure? That doesn't sound too great," Vic said.

"Oh, well then how about…Beast Boy?"

"That sounds better," Vic said.

"Well, I'm not too sure about mine. Um…I put down Rock Girl, but that sounds dorky. Any ideas?" Terra asked.

"How about your last name, Boulder? That sounds alright," Gar suggested.

"Okay then, Boulder," Terra scribbled it on her paper.

"Mine is Raven," I looked down at my paper.

"And I'm still going to be Robin," Rich finished us off.

"Sounds good guys. What do we do now?" Wally asked.

"You listen to me, very carefully," we turned around to see Superman leaning against a bookcase. He addressed us, "You all are now part of your own superhero unit. The Titans. Take this responsibility with pride because usually seniors are the only ones who get this privilege. Fist thing in being a hero. You address your teammates by their superhero name. Your job now is to find Trigon and defeat him. How? That is up to you. Get to work," he walked out of the library.

Robin (they're going to be called by their hero names now) stood up, "Well then. Let's go and figure out where Trigon went."

"Where do we start?" BB asked.

"Let's go back to the city. Maybe we'll find some clues," I said and we all stood up.

We walked out of the library and to M.M. Hall and opened the door to the city. We walked to the place where Trigon had attacked and split up into groups.

Robin and I walked around the scene.

"So you have a sibling?" I asked.

"Um…" he started.

But then it hit me. I'd seen those letters this morning on the floor. R A G. It was possible…. "Adrienne is your sister?!"

"Well…yeah," he mumbled.

"But how? I thought her last name started with a B," I reasoned.

"Just a cover. But she's only my half sister. Through our mom."

"So your mom is Artemis?"

"Yeah. My dad never knew she had Rachel. My mother cast a spell over him but told me about it. Adrienne might not even know. She was sent to live with foster parents."

"I'm pretty sure she knows. Do you have any powers?"

"Nope. I got dad's acrobatic side. I don't mind though."

"Hmm. Do you see any hint to where Trigon went?"

"There doesn't seem to be anything here. You sense anything or something?"

I closed my eyes, "Nothing. But I found some random words carved into the floor next to Aid's cot. It was something about rushing a try that's gone to si or see berea…I don't know, it was weird. I think your sister wrote it 'cause it had her initials underneath it."

"You should look at it later, see if you can make any sense of it."

I nodded. A small green monkey appeared on Robin's shoulder.

"None of us can find anything and I'm starving, Rich!"

"Robin, Beast Boy. Let's head back to the University. Maybe food will get our minds working. Go tell the others and we'll all meet back at the door."

The monkey jumped off Robin's shoulder, turning into a hawk in midair and flying off.

We arrived at the door seconds before the others. I leaned against the wall and it opened. We walked out of the building, across the field, and to the cafeteria. It was jam packed with students but our table was open. We all sat down and began eating. Halfway through a boy with light blond hair and sullen eyes. He was very skinny and his clothes looked like they'd fall off.

"Hey, some people that have the same cloaks as you are outside…and they're kind of marveling over a tree," he pointed out the window and then walked away.

I looked out and gasped. Jade and my mother were standing under a tree, staring at in amazement. I looked at Jinx, "My family is so weird. Help me, please."

"Fine. But like it told you before. They might not have such…tall trees on their planet," she struggled to keep down a laugh.

"Shut up," I led the way out of the cafeteria.

We walked out onto the field and walked up behind my family. Jinx tried repeatedly to stay something but had to cover her mouth for fear of laughing.

I rolled my eyes, "What are you doing?"

Jade swirled around, "It's a tree!"

"Uh…yeah, it is," I said slowly.

"It is marvelous! The leaves are so green!" she picked one off and gazed at it with intent.

I glanced at Jinx who was giggling into her hand and then at my mother who was running a hand up the trunk of the tree. I went over to her and turned her around by the shoulder.

"What _are_ you doing, mother?"

She smiled, "I have not seen a tree in ten years, Rachel. Jade has never seen one. This is a delightful experience for her."

"Mom, it's a tree! A tree for crying out loud! You come back after ten years and all you do is embarrass me and my friends! Make yourself useful and don't ruin Jade's time here. Come on, Jade. Let me show you around," I grabbed Jade's hand, gave my mother a scornful glance, and walked away with Jinx in tow.

Jinx ran up beside me, "That was a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Nope," I grumbled.

"Oh come on, 'make yourself useful and don't ruin Jade's time here'? How was she ruining Jade's time?"

I sighed in frustration, "I-well…you know!"

"Uh, no I don't. Enlighten me."

I turned around to her sly smirk, "Jinx! You don't understand," I turned back around and kept walking.

"No, I don't. But why can't you?"

I turned back around, "What do you mean?"

"She means that mom didn't want to leave. That she had to. And now she's back and you're just pushing her away!" Jade yelled and stormed off.

I twirled a finger and a black aura surrounded Jade and stopped her in her tracks. "Why did she _have_ to?"

"She probably already told you. Our home was in ruins. No plants, little resources, and food was scarce. And all because of _your_ father. Mother had to come home to help fight against him."

"No she didn't! She did not _have_ to. She could have stayed here, with me!"

Her eyes glowed green, "No. She was summoned by her _own _mother. A refusal from something like that means death. By leaving she had the chance to return. You should be grateful."

I was about to say something but stopped. "Death?"

"Yes," she said gravely.

"Oh. Well then. Come on, we'll give you a tour," I changed the subject and flicked my hand.

"Alright," she walked over and took my hand.

I raised an eyebrow and looked back at Jinx.

She grinned, "I just love family reunions."

I rolled my eyes and looked down at Jade, "So tell me about yourself."

She smiled, "Well…"

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**Her mother returns, and with a child! Rachel's emotions are all mixed up over her mother but seems to be accepting Jade...? what shall happen next? only time will tell ;)**

**peacewriting4alllifes**


	10. We Have To Pack, Don't We?

**So this is really short and I'm sorry. Very sorry. don't be mad me. :(. i've decided that the Titans will be called by their real names, not their superhero names. **

**i dont own anything**

**sorry, once again**

**writing4alllifes**

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**Chapter 10**

"My father died soon after I was born. I don't know his name. But I grew up with the Resistance. I didn't help much until the last two years. Then I actually got to work with people. Not out in the field, of course. But at our base," Jade grinned. "I didn't like to go outside much anyway. It always looks so bleak and depressing. Sometimes when I looked out the window and saw the nothingness, I never wanted to venture out. It seemed much too scary. Hey, why's your hair pink?" Jade turned to Jinx, changing the subject.

Jinx seemed surprised but countered, "Why's yours black?"

"With red stripes. But shh! Mom thinks it was a bad science experiment. She doesn't know that Reggie dyed it!"

Jinx snickered and I asked, "Who's Reggie?"

"He's my best friend. Or was," she looked sad all of a sudden. "He was sent outside and then he was killed by one of the Trigions (trig-yuns like bunions but with a trig…) that roam outside our base," a tear dropped from her eye.

"I'm sorry," I said.

She shrugged, "It's okay. Mom said that I should get ready for it to happen more. And it did."

We were silent. I had ended up leading us to the dormitory and we walked in soundlessly.

"Is this your room?" Jade asked, pointing to our door.

"Yeah, now can we—."

She cut me off, "Let's go in!"

I pushed the door opened, annoyed.

"Wow! I like your side best, Jinx!" Jade said.

"Thank—wait. I didn't tell you my name."

"I read your mind silly. There were lots of Jinx's and Wally's in there. I figured you were Jinx," she shrugged and sat on my bed. She pointed to Aid's old cot, "Who slept there? There's a lot of mixed up emotions there. Sadness, uncertainty."

"That was our…erm, old…acquaintance's. She…left," I struggled.

"Hmm. What's that stuff on the floor?" she pointed to the message I'd found earlier that morning.

"I'm not really sure," I said distractedly.

Both Jinx and Jade were down on the floor, looking at it.

Jade murmured, "Rush…tri…you know what this means, right?"

"No?"

"He's in Siberia. In this place called Russia. Whatever that is," Jade said.

"Who's there?" Jinx asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Trigon!"

"That's the thing that attacked us, right?"

"Where have you been?!"

"In the hospital!"

"Trigon is her father, okay?" Jade said.

"What? Your father? Whoa, that's a little weird," Jinx murmured.

"Yeah, I know. So he's in Siberia?" I thought it was little weird since I'd told Rich that my father had moved to Russia when he left.

"Apparently. We should go tell mom," Jade said

I nodded, "Can you teleport?"

Jade nodded and disappeared. I was stumped for a moment. I had to find her presence so I could follow. I finally found it.

"Grab my hand," I said to Jinx and she complied. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos," I mumbled and closed my eyes.

When I opened them we were outside of the cafeteria. Jinx was stumbling around.

"I do not want to do that again," she muttered.

I laughed and dragged her into the cafeteria. My mother and friends were gathered around our table, listening to Jade intently.

"So, apparently, he's in Siberia," we caught the last of what Jade was saying.

The rest of them were silent for a second. Then Gar broke the silence, "So we gotta pack now, don't we?"

My mother smiled, "Yes, I figure that you will. Maybe you all should go do that. Jade and I shall go and talk to your superiors."

"They're heroes mom, heroes," I muttered.

"What was that, Rachel?" my mother asked.

"Nothing, nothing," I mumbled.

She shrugged and took Jade's hand and walked away from us. We all exchanged glances and then we walked out of the cafeteria.

Rich jogged up to me, "You alright?"

I sighed, "I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that my mother and father are back now. Both being equally annoying. It's just really hard."

"I understand," he took my hand.

"No, you don't. You don't understand how hurt I am. My mother had a child after abandoning me. Now she comes back, and only so we can defeat my father. And my father…ugh. I'm just….just…I don't even know. It's all so mixed up," I sighed.

He put and arm around my shoulder and squeezed me, "It'll be alright, Rae, I promise."

I rested my head on his shoulder, "I hope so, I hope so."

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**so short, i know. but the next one will be longer and up quicker, i promise. i dont really like this chapter...but if u do, dont b nervous. review! o and thanks to my reviewers!**

**lol bye**

**writing4alllifes**


	11. StealthBall

**Hi!! I finally updated...I'm real sorry. I had a track meet, three tests, and a huge track competition. I hardly had time to talk to my friends...sigh. so this is ch 11!! its long, happy? :) lol. so i created a game for superheroes. its based on a lacrosse game i saw with holycowgirl. it was very funny...so enjoy!**

**disclaimer: do u seriously think i own TT or anything else? i mean...seriously, ppl?**

**Chapter 11**

All of us were silent as we walked over to our dormitory. I knew that they wanted answers, and that I was going to be asked a lot of questions later, but I just ignored the obvious curiousness of the others. When we got to the hallway we found an envelope tape onto each of our doors. I ripped ours off and walked in. I tore the envelope open and found a letter addressed to me and Jinx. I sat down on my bed and read it.

**Jinx and Raven,**

**Information has been found on the whereabouts of your target. Tomorrow you and your teammates will be sent to the location to complete the mission. Pack now and enjoy your last night in civilization for a while. I hear there is a good Stealth-Ball game tonight. Go check it out.**

**Try not to get into trouble,**

**Diana**

I tossed Jinx the letter and grabbed my suitcase. I started to levitate my clothes inside of it and then, once I was done, zipped it up and placed it next to my pile of books.

"What's Stealth-ball?" Jinx asked.

"I have no idea…something like football, probably," I stretched.

"Yeah. I don't think I'll be going. Maybe Wally and I'll do something," she said with a hint of mischief.

"Ah. Well then I'm leaving. See ya later tonight. Oh, and if Jade comes in, please don't be doing anything…unwise. She's sleeping here tonight, remember?"

"I know, mom! Now go have fun!" Jinx snickered.

I rolled my eyes and walked out the dorm room. Rich was just walking out of his, shaking his head and smiling.

I walked over, "What're you smiling about?"

"Just that I've got the most wonderful girlfriend in the world," I blushed as he said this.

"So, what's this Stealth-ball thing?" I asked.

"Um, it's a game they have here. Want to go check it out?"

"Sure," he slid an arm around my shoulder and we walked out of the dorm.

We were crossing the field when we started talking again, "Siberia, huh? Why do you think your dad went there?"

I sighed, "Rich, I don't know and at the moment I don't really care. I just want to go to this game with my wonderful boyfriend and have some fun before I do have to care. Okay?"

"Alright. Well then, you want to know about the game then?"

"Yeah, that'd be helpful."

"Stealth-ball can only be played by students who aren't freshman, sadly. The point of the game is, as in most games, to score the most goals. But the trick in this game is that the ball you play with is really small. Smaller than a baseball but a little bigger than a golf ball. The players have to get the ball to their teammates using their powers. So 

it's all a surprise as to when you're going to get the ball. It could just appear in your hands, all of a sudden. But the thing is that the other team won't know who the ball went to, unless they beat it out of the player who sent it to you. The playing field is like a big laser-tag field. A big maze with ledges, walls, and little towers to climb and stuff. At the end of both sides there are little pedestals. You have to put the ball on the pedestal to score a point. But the other team can use whatever means necessary to stop you from scoring. So it gets brutal. The stands are up high so you can look down and see where everyone is in the maze. There are also TV's in front of the seats so you can track each player's movements. It's a really exciting game."

"Wow. Sounds like it could be hard, unless you're invisible or something," I said.

"The reigning champ did have that power…but I don't think he ever used it. I'm not sure the rules allow it."

"So, who do we play? There aren't any other superhero schools, are there?"

"We play schools from other countries. Tonight is against Russia, actually. A little odd, huh?"

"Definitely. So where is this arena?"

"Just down this road," Rich motioned to a cobblestone path that went in between two buildings. There was an overturned slab of stone in the middle of the path. It looked kind of like one of those things that are in the middle of a road. They stop you from driving through there.

"Hey, kick this thing. It's an old JLU tradition. You kick this and you get good luck. Everyone has kicked it at least once," Rich said enthusiastically, kicking it.

"Erm, okay..,?" I gently tapped the rock with my shoe.

Rich chuckled and led us forward. After a few steps we could hear the roar of a crowd and the blaring voice of the intercom.

We ran ahead so we could hear better, "And now, let this game of Stealth-ball, America versus Russia, begiiiiinnnnnn!!"

We rushed inside and grabbed nosebleed seats just as it started. Rich pointed down to a person with a red, white, and blue uniform on, "He's got the ball. Click on Hot Spot on your screen."

I looked at the screen and pressed a little square with HOT SPOT in it. The screen went to the picture of a lean African-American guy running down a long passage. His feet had flames around them and seemed to be propelling him forward. I looked down at the field and saw the flames turn at a corner. But I could also see that a girl with a uniform that was colored black, yellow, and white. The girl was flying at high speeds toward Hot Spot.

"Is that Russia? Aren't their colors red, white, and blue?" I asked.

"Yeah, but since it's an away game, they wear different colors," Rich explained. "Look at that! Oh, poor Hot Spot," Rich pointed to a little scene down in the maze.

Hot Spot was on his back and the girl from Russia was flying swiftly in the opposite direction. But then, out of nowhere, a stream of water blasted her out of the air.

"Press Aqualad on there," Rich instructed.

Aqualad? Wasn't that the guy that attacked us on Friday? I pressed it anyway. Yup, definitely him. He had a small rubber ball in his hand. The ball was suddenly surrounded in water and then the water cleared and the ball had disappeared.

"Where'd it go?" I asked.

"I haven't a clue," Rich mumbled and leaned forward.

Suddenly a loud, long buzzer sounded and the people around us roared happily, jumping up in joy. Rich grabbed my hand and jumped up.

"We scored! Woo!" he yelled.

I was jerked up. I smiled meekly, "Yay?"

He grinned, "Yeah! Woo-hoo!"

I rolled my eyes and sat down. I looked down at the maze and saw a blonde boy standing next to a pedestal that was slowly rising into the air. As it got higher I saw that the small rubber ball was resting in the middle. The crowd slowly quieted down but we could still hear the other team's fans cussing us out.

"F you JLU!!", "You suck!!", "Get it together Russia!!", and "C'mon! Kill 'em!!" were heard. I laughed and Rich sat back down. He looked at me and then pulled me up.

"What?" I asked as he led me out of the stadium.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something," he dragged me out of the arena and back toward the field.

We walked across the field and to the library. As we walked up I saw a large CLOSED sign hanging on the door.

"It's closed, Richard," I said, looking at him skeptically.

"No, it's not," he grinned and walked around the back with me in tow.

I looked at the brick wall that was the back of the library, "Okay, it's a wall. How are we getting in? Why do we need to get in?"

He walked to the left side of the wall, "Just watch."

Rich tapped the wall for a second and then pushed a brick in. There was a loud click and then half the wall moved away. He stepped through to the other side and motioned for me to follow. After a moment's hesitation I did. Rich turned to a bookcase and pulled a book forward. The wall slid back.

"That's weird," I mumbled.

"It's superhero school. Everything's weird. Alright, follow me, and be quiet," he moved down the aisle slowly and I followed.

The library was dark, only lit by a few dim overhead lights. We walked down rows and rows of books until we reached a gate. A sign on it said RESTRICTED SECTION. There was a large lock on it.

"Can you get the lock off, Rae?"

"Oh, sure, let's just break into the library. Genius, Boy Wonder," I rolled my eyes but broke the lock.

The gate swung open and we walked through. I sighed, "Alright, Rich, what are we doing in here?"

"Just follow me," he said mysteriously and took a left.

The light in here was much the same, but a little dimmer. We passed three bookcases and then turned into one. He tapped his chin and then reached up and grabbed a book. He led the way to a small table, put the book down, and pulled up two chairs. We sat down and I looked at the book. The cover said **Big Book Of Azar.**

"Well, that's just creepy," I murmured and opened it.

"Look around in it. Might find something useful," Rich said and leaned forward as I skimmed the contents section.

"Fifty thousand years ago, ten thousand years ago, ah, this might help, Present Day," I turned to the page.

I looked at the picture on the page. It was a barren, grey landscape. It was completely empty, except for a few very dead looking trees. In one of them perched a black bird. But otherwise it looked like a disaster. I looked at the footnote. **Picture of present day Azar.** I gasped, "Oh my gosh. It's horrible!"

"What does it say?"

I read the first couple lines, "Azar has been terrorized the last ten years by the surprise return of the evil war lord, Trigon. Along with him came a Resistance that is said to be led by his former wife. Trigon, a mass murderer, has wreaked havoc on Azar for ten long years without anything to stop him. Recently, though, he has not been seen. It is rumored that he has gone back to Earth to search for his daughter, who will assist him in conquering Azar forever."

"That's complete bull. You wouldn't do that," Rich exclaimed.

"Yeah, but all these horrible things have happened there! And now everyone there thinks I'm in league with that monster! It's horrible," I closed the book and sighed.

"Not when they hear how Earth's newest heroes, including his daughter, kick his red ass out of orbit!" Rich grinned.

I rolled my eyes, "He's basically invincible, Rich. I haven't a clue how Superman expects us to defeat him."

"Well, I know we can. We just need a lot of teamwork, that's all. Won't be anything to it," Rich said confidently.

"Yeah, a positive attitude and we can do anything!" I said, sarcasm enveloping my every word. "We can be the Hippie Heroes…Out to save the day with flower power!" I rolled my eyes.

He laughed, "That's mean!"

"Since when have I been known to be nice?" I grinned mischievously.

He raised an eyebrow and leaned over to me. Our lips met and we were suddenly standing up. I had a hand in his hair and one around his neck. He had his arms around my waist. We were so close together, it was exhilarating. I smiled into the kiss as I felt his hands move down lower.

When all of a sudden, the lights flipped on and an amused voice said, "Library's closed, kiddies."

We froze. I blinked a couple times because of the light and looked up at Rich. His crystal blue eyes were surprised but amused. He was looking behind me. I swirled around with an arm around Rich's waist.

An old man was standing behind the table we'd been sitting at. He was tall, muscular, black, and was almost bald. He had light brown eyes that seemed to have seen too much. He wasn't hobbled over, but was standing tall and composed, smiling slightly at the scene he'd witnessed.

Rich smiled and said nervously, "Hey, Mr. T."

"Robin. You do know that the closed sign is up for a reason, right?"

"Erm yeah…but I mean the back door was wide open," Rich laughed nervously.

"How'd you two even get back here? That lock is pretty durable. As in impossible-to-break, durable," Mr. T tapped his fingers on the table.

"That would've been me. His sidekick in breaking and entering…library style," I smiled sarcastically.

He laughed, "I see. Now what are you doing with this book?" he picked up the book we'd been looking at.

"A mission," Rich said uncertainly.

"Going to Azar?" Mr. T said doubtfully.

"No, there's information about a target in there," Rich explained.

"Uh-huh? So once again I say did you see the closed sign? As in not open to visitors?"

"Look, 'Mr. T', this is important and for a mission given by the JL. I do believe that, since the mission is tomorrow, this isn't that big of a deal," I reasoned.

"Oh yes? Is what I just witnessed _important for a mission?_ Unless you're going to Woodstock, I'm not going to believe you," he crossed his arms.

"How'd you even know we were here?" Rich asked.

"The T-spheres. They can act as cameras. I've got 'em all over the library."

"Perv," I said under my breath.

"What was that? My hearing's going," Mr. T said.

"Oh! Nothing," I said quickly.

"Alright kids, I'll let you off with a warning this time. But no more 'night-time reading', okay?"

We nodded and made our way back to the gate. I waited until we'd gotten back outside to ask.

"Who exactly was that guy?"

He looked surprised I didn't know, "Mr. Terrific! He's retired now. Head Librarian here."

I suddenly saw the resemblance, "Oh! I thought he looked familiar!"

We walked back around the library silently.

We were nearing the field when I spoke, "You know what I still can't believe?"

"What?" he slid an arm around my waist.

"I can't believe that this is basically our…third or fourth day here. And already we've gotten a major mission and knowledge that we are the 'superheroes of tomorrow'. Kind of amazing…"

He smiled, "Yeah, I guess so."

"But I guess you got more exciting things when you were Boy Wonder with Batman," I said.

"Sure, but this involves traveling, magic stuff, and the most beautiful girl in all the universes," he grinned.

I blushed, "You—."

I was cut off by a kiss. His lips touched mine softly. His tongue was begging for entrance and I part my lips. We stood there for what seemed like hours but could only be a minute. We both ran out of air eventually and parted. And then it started to pour. Sheets and sheets of rain pummeled down on our backs. I put up a force field Rich started to run for the dormitory and I flew quickly after him, laughing. I made out the dorm after a while and we rushed in. I was dry…but Rich was drenched. His tee-shirt was plastered against his sculpted chest. We laughed as we walked towards our rooms. I said goodbye as he walked into his room and I walked down to mine happily.

Entering my room joyfully was very new. Joy wasn't an emotion that usually popped up…so the lights popped. There was a crash and a bang.

"What the heck!" I heard Jinx yell.

"Sorry," I said, amused.

"You better be," she grumbled.

I felt my way over to my bed and had sat down when Jinx turned on her side lamp. Her face was illuminated and had a dark look on it.

"Your sister's here," she said, obviously trying to keep calm.

"Oh," I looked down at the cot on the floor and saw the sleeping shape of my half sister.

"She's kind of…strange," Jinx muttered.

"Yeah, she is. The little kid just knows too much…seen too much," I whispered, not wanting to wake her up.

"No kid should be scared to go outside," Jinx said sadly.

"Yeah. Did I tell you that Aid is Rich's little sister?" I suddenly remembered.

"What? Are you serious?" Jinx said curiously, no longer angry at me.

"Yeah. Apparently his mom is Artemis…I don't really understand it. But it's weird."

"And then she goes and stabs her brother and his friends in the back. Traitors," she flipped her light off.

Encased in the darkness I muttered, "Yeah…Traitors…"

I used my powers to get my pajamas on myself and my clothes off without having to trip over anything. Traitors…they really didn't seem like the kind of people who would betray their friends. They seemed too…nice. But that was the problem. People who betray their friends are always _nice._ They just get close to you and rip your heart out. Poor Rich…I got under my blankets and put my head on the pillow. But what if…? No, a foolish thought. Never. They decided to hurt us, become our enemies…that was the end of it…I guess.

I closed my eyes. University was so much more than math and science…

* * *

**there u go. i want to thank all my awesome reviewers. u all r awezome. i hope u liked and review on ur way out. want 2 tell all u that updates will take a while because of track, exams, all that jazz. i am sory. :). hopefully there will b a new chapter next weekend sometime...**

**peace out ;)**

**writing4alllifes**


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